Rep. Rosa DeLauro

Debra Ness, President PWF

Worker champion Rep. Rose DeLauro proved how necessary it is for America to stop being last in all things that help working people. “it is hard to stay ahead when 19 of the 20 most competitive countries in the world guarantee paid sick days – and the United States in the odd one out … What does it say when Lesotho and Papua New Guinea are implementing paid sick days to give their businesses and their entire nation a competitive edge, yet America still does not get it?” Read DeLauro’s testimony.

Debra Ness highlighted the fact that “the problem (of little to no paid sick leave) is particularly acute for working women ,,, because they are more likely to work part-time (or cobble together full-time hours by working more than one part-time position) than men. Only 16 percent of part-time workers have paid sick days, compared to 60 percent of full-time workers.”

Ness continued, “one in six workers report that they or a family member have been fired, suspended, punished or threatened with being fired for taking time off due to personal illness or to care for a sick relative, according to a 2008 University of Chicago survey commissioned by Read Ness’ committee testimony.

Also supporting the Healthy Families Act was Read Frett’s testimony.

Business Lobby Opposition

But HR industry representative, China Miner Gorman, opposed the modest change in the way American employers do business. She testified “according to the SHRM 2009 Examining Paid Leave in the Workplace Survey, 81 percent of responding SHRM members reported that their organization offered some form of paid sick leave … particularly during a time of economic crisis … Congress should refrain from pursuing additional employer mandates – rather, employers need to be unencumbered from proscriptive government rules, so that they can create innovative and more flexible ways to meet the needs of their employees.” Read Gorman’s testimony.

HR offers more more reflexive, simplistic allusions to “free enterprise” and efficacy of voluntary employer controls in the absence of regulations. Can you say global economic meltdown because business has been unfettered?

China Gorman, SHRM

Gorman told Congress to leave employers unecumbered so they can do things for employees. Really? Is HR in the business of meeting employees’ needs? Not according to SHRM’s stated mission which is to advance: “the human resource profession and the capabilities of all human resource professionals to ensure that HR is an essential and effective partner in developing and executing organizational strategy.” Notice that it is about attempts to credential (SPHR, CPHR, etc.) hr types so that they can sit at the right hand of the CEO. HR is eager to serve its organizational masters in the executive suite. Unfortunately for SHRM, executives mock HR and their dubious contributions.

The funniest part about SHRM’s involvement with the HFA was their complaining that subcommittee chair Rep. Lynn Woolsey pronounced SHRM as “shoorum” instead of their preferred “sherm” as if the world should know about an HR trade group.

To solidify HR as anti-employee/worker: “The only thing that gets [SHRM members] more riled up than HFA is EFCA,” Mike Aitken, SHRM director of government affairs (lobbying) said. EFCA is the bill to make workplace unionization easier, to level the playing field with employers.

The heaviest hitting corporate lobby to oppose the HFA is the US Chamber of Commerce. Attorney Victoria Lipnic spoke for that group. She is the former in-house counsel at the U.S. Postal Service, a former staffer to the Committee when Republicans were the majority party, and Asst Secy of Labor for Employment Standards under George W Bush and anti-employee Secretary Cho’s Department of Labor.

Victoria Lipnic, US Chamber

The Chamber’s mission: “to advance human progress through an economic, political and social system based on individual freedom, incentive, initiative, opportunity and responsibility.”

About paid sick leave for American workers, Lipnic said “employers provide leave benefits as a recruiting and retention tool, as a market differentiator, as part of a total compensation/total rewards package, but have the ability to take into account how the benefits are structured. Under the HFA, employers who are already providing these benefits would be subject to a new regulatory regime (sic), additional compliance and recordkeeping costs and litigation for alleged violations of the law.” Read Lipnic’s testimony.

See, employers are already benevolently providing all the paid sick leave workers require. Ignore or discount the CEPR report that puts us last among 22 nations.

The tug of war has begun between advocates who can readily demonstrate the positive impact paid sick leave has on the workplace and the business lobby that utters its drivel about “free” enterprise so they can run the American workplace like a master drives the slaves. Will Congress help the American worker or roll over to appease the big contributor biz lobby?

Stay tuned.

Read the background article about HR 2640, the HFA.

Gary Namie