Chamber Advocate
May 10, 2011 | Public Policy News From The San Diego Regional Chamber Of Commerce
State Legislature Works Hard to Keep California Business-Unfriendly
Last week, the Assembly Committee on Appropriations approved AB 400 (Ma), which would require employers to provide paid sick leave for employees. Employees would receive seven days of paid sick leave, accrue leave, and carry over unused time to the next year. Employers would also be mandated to abide by new signage requirements or they would face stiff penalties by the state. Under AB 400, employees would have the ability to sue employers if a violation occurred to their paid sick leave rights. The bill also presumes an employer is retaliating against an employee if the employer takes any corrective action within 90 days of an employee's complaint or opposition to the employer's paid sick leave policy. The legislation is scheduled to be heard again by the Assembly Appropriations Committee on Wednesday, May 11, 2011.
In spite of the Governor’s proposal to slash a billion dollars from the Medi-Cal program and the enactment of major federal health reform last year, the Senate Health Committee approved SB 810 (Leno). The bill would establish a socialized ‘single-payer’ health care system in California. SB 810 would create a new ‘State Healthcare Agency’ with numerous new departments. Under this bill, a new governor-appointed commissioner would have broad powers to negotiate rates, set fees and premiums for health care services provided through the system, and determine how much it would pay for healthcare claims. Not surprisingly, employers would pay an additional tax (premium) to fund this healthcare system. The bill is expected to be heard again by the Senate Appropriations Committee in the next few weeks.
The Chamber will urge state legislators to VOTE NO on these and other anti-business bills when it visits Sacramento this Thursday. Click here to view the Chamber’s letter opposing AB 400.