Senator Lamar Alexander, chairman of the Senate labor committee, today made the following statement on President Obama’s call for mandatory paid sick time:
“Americans have great freedom when it comes to work—they can choose the career they like and negotiate with their employer for the things they need, and they can one day become employers, opening businesses with few restrictions compared to the rest of the world.
"One more government mandate, however well-intentioned, will only reduce those freedoms—making it harder for employees to find jobs, negotiate for the things they need, and open and run businesses.
Washington should do what it can to encourage employers to offer paid sick leave—not impose a big new mandate that will cost employers $11.4 billion over five years and make it harder for them to hire new employees.”