Employment & Labor

The Chamber strives to be an effective and informative resource to its members, public officials, and the community on ramifications of evolving labor and employment issues, and their effects to local area businesses and the economy.

The Chamber Advocates for:

• Efforts to provide recommendations for new workers’ compensation reform measures to reduce costs to businesses.
• Reductions in health care costs for employers.
• When appropriate, the preparation of cost benefit analysis ensuring economic impacts are weighed before the imposition of regulatory statutes to avoid costly mandates on employers.
• Monitoring new legislation to regulate employer and employee relations.
• Revisions to the State’s restrictive wage/hour laws and regulations that prevent a mutually agreed upon flexible work week or alternative schedules.
• Public employee pension reform to reduce government costs, eliminate unfunded liabilities, and bring public pensions in line with those offered in the private sector.

The Chamber Opposes:

• Automatic increases in minimum wage.
• Statutes that encourage employees to strike.
• Legislation that expands employer liability that encourages “sue your boss” lawsuits.
• Abuses in family leave and sick-time mandates.
• Efforts to implement card check-like legislation/regulations.
• Legislation or regulations that limit the ability of businesses to fairly communicate with its employees about their rights as an employee and the effects of unionization on the business and the employee.
• Separate legal presumptions for specific class of employees and or occupations.

Legislative Tracking