Saturday, April 28, 2018

Connecticut's New FMLA Nightmare

Connecticut Democrats truly dislike business and those individuals who do not work for state government.  Another example of this hatred is House Bill #5387 that massively expands the Family Medical Leave Act.  The costs to Connecticut Businesses and Taxpayers will be enormous.
Here are some of the highlights of this bill:
1. The bill will implement a .5 percent employee tax to fund a medical trust fund that will be run by the state.  Anyone who works in Connecticut now pays this tax.
2. It greatly expands the Federal FMLA Act by offering 12 weeks of leave up to $1000 per week for any worker to take care of any blood relative or friend who is considered family.  The Federal Act only allows for immediate family to be taken care of.
3. It greatly expands the Federal FMLA Act by expanding it from the current limited to only those companies with 50 or more employees to any company that has 2 yes 2 or more employees.
4. The bill the way it written as far as my analysis is not sustainable due to the  initial start up costs and yearly costs to run the program.  For example someone who earns $50000. a year will pay a yearly $250 tax and be eligible for up to $675 per week for 12 weeks of benefits.
5. Any employee who has worked for six months or 500 hours can receive this benefit.
6. The only way this program could be started is that it would be funded by a $20 million dollar bond.  The estimated costs to start the program would be $13 to $14 million dollars.  The yearly costs to run the program would be over $18 million dollars a year.  I can see how this program would be completely underfunded from the start and be exceptionally costly to Connecticut Taxpayers in the long run.
7.  A entirely new layer of state bureaucracy would be developed to run this poorly written and designed program.
All in all this is yet another damaging bill which will increase the costs of living and doing business in the state for the future.  Why is it necessary?  In my opinion the Connecticut Democrat Party is in severe danger of losing its control of power in Connecticut in the upcoming election by losing all offices statewide and losing control of the House and Senate.  Thus the great push for as many economically damaging, political patronage bills and laws to be passed and signed into law before this session ends.
Haven't you had enough?  I know I have. 

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