Chamber of Commerce Quotes

[M]any legitimate concerns have…been raised about this bill, and the hasty attempt to pass it without considering these important issues only heightens the Chamber's concerns that this legislation would dramatically expand the number of frivolous and otherwise questionable cases that could be brought against employers. The Senate would be well served to further examine this bill and properly consider alternative approaches through the Committee process.

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Chamber of Commerce’s executive vice president for government affairs, R. Bruce Josten.

[The bill] raises taxes on a narrow sector of the U.S. economy with the aim of funding a broad-based entitlement program, which is grossly unfair and burdensome to American businesses and consumers.

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R. Bruce Josten, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, letter to Congress.

By applying the paycheck rule broadly, it is possible that claims could be filed decades after an allegedly discriminatory act occurred. By applying the rule to pension annuities as well, a cause of action could arise decades after the individual ceased to work for the employer….Subjecting employers to such claims would literally lead to an explosion of litigation second guessing legitimate employment and personnel decisions.

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Chamber of Commerce’s Key Vote Alert.
321104/21/2008 | Full Details | Law(s): Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act

There is definitely a major disconnect between our leaders in Trenton and the people who pay taxes and employ residents. Legislators and the governor seem to think our residents and employers have deep pockets and unlimited resources to fund their bloated bureaucracy, when that is far from the case. This madness has to end.

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Jim Leonard, senior vice president of Chamber of Commerce. The Newark Star-Ledger.

We are about to place a mandate on our struggling employers that does not exist in 48 other states. This is not a welcoming message to companies looking to expand here or explore New Jersey as a place of investment.

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Kevin Friedlander, spokesperson for the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce, The Newark Star-Ledger.

[The business community will wage] all-out war [against paid family leave because] someone's got to pay for it [and] paid leave will give employees an incentive to use it.

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Randel Johnson, vice president for labor, immigration and employee benefits at the United States Chamber of Commerce. The Austin Business Journal.
303309/10/2007 | Full Details | Law(s): General: Family Leave

When disagreements and disputes in the workplace fester and potential damage amounts increase, compromise and cooperation become far more difficult. Ms. Ledbetter claimed, however, that she was entitled by a special ‘paycheck rule’ applicable only to claims of alleged pay discrimination, to sleep on her rights for decades before raising her concerns with the EEOC.

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Neal D. Mollen, counsel for Chamber of Commerce, testimony, House Committee on Education and Labor.
321006/12/2007 | Full Details | Law(s): Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act

Petitioner, however, seeks a rule that would effectively eliminate any meaningful period of limitation in certain kinds of discriminatory pay claims, allowing an employee to wait years or even decades to challenge an allegedly discriminatory decision so long as the economic consequences of that decision have continued into the limitations period. Such a rule would be irreconcilable with Congress’ design for the administration of Title VII, and would subject the employers…to damages for entirely innocent decisions that have nonetheless become difficult or impossible to defend solely because of the passage of time….such a rule would impose an unwarranted and excessive burden on employers…

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From the amicus brief filed by Chamber of Commerce and the NFIB Legal Foundation.

Living wage proposals are economically unfair because they change the basis on which our economy operates. Instead of allowing the market forces to determine pay, living wages put the interests of employees above all other consideration…and they base wages on what the worker wants instead of on the value of work performed.

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U.S. Chamber of Commerce, amicus brief filed with the Supreme Court of Louisiana against the New Orleans living wage ordinance.
11/21/2004 | Full Details | Law(s): Living Wage

Wage mandates ignore the principals of free market economies; they prevent businesses from making profits, growing and hiring more workers; and they base wages on what the worker wants instead of on the value of work performed.

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Amicus brief filed by Chamber of Commerce with the Supreme Court of Louisiana.
11/21/2004 | Full Details | Law(s): Minimum Wage

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