Family and Medical Leave Quotes

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.

Why now? This is the wrong time to pass this bill that will send more businesses out of New Jersey. Maybe at the right time, in the right economy, this would be the right bill.

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State Senator Christopher "Kip" Bateman (R). The Newark Star-Ledger

This is why NJBIA and its member companies have been fighting passage of a paid family leave mandate in the Legislature. Despite its good intentions, the mandate would greatly impair the ability of employers to operate their businesses and meet their customers' needs. NJBIA members have sent 50,000 messages to legislators and the governor opposing it. Yet, state policymakers seem to be oblivious. We are teetering on the edge of recession, we are losing jobs, and they want to impose a huge new mandate that has been adopted by only one other state, California...What New Jersey needs now, more than ever, is to have its government leadership focus fiercely on what can be done to strengthen the state's business climate and create new jobs. Businesses are tired of elected officials who say they support a growing economy and small business, only to take actions that contradict their words, like voting for paid family leave.

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Philip Kirschner, president of the New Jersey Business & Industry Association. The Newark Star-Ledger.

New Jersey is anti-business. This bill creates even more of an anti-business climate. ... It's one more mandate, one more tax, one more reason for the move to Pennsylvania.

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Republican State Senator Kevin O'Toole. The Bergen County Record.

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.

It's very possible the paid leave will only be used by the prosperous, who can afford to go without any pay for five weeks or more. In essence, this program could be funded by the poor working-class folks to give the more prosperous a benefit. Democrats know this program won't be used by those that need it the most.

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Washington House Republican Bruce Chandler, The Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
303403/04/2008 | Full Details | Law(s): Washington Family Leave Act

So when businesses are already looking for opportunities over the rivers and past the bay, what does our Senate do? It decides to insist that business provide paid time off for family leave...There is a reason that only two states have enacted this legislation. It is because states do not want to lose the businesses that make up the backbone of their budgets. New Jersey senators don't care because this is other people's money anyway. They can stand and pontificate over how they are helping people while those same citizens' employers say ... goodbye.

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Dennis, blogging at NJ Tax Revolution blog, The Newark Star-Ledger

The nanny state continues, churning out one bad piece of legislation after another!....Yes, we should have compassion for people, compassion for our workforce. When my father had a heart attack in November, which went well into December, I had to take time off - but I worked around it ....Not all workplaces can do that. Those that can should look for ways to accommodate employees, if possible. This is a slippery slope we're on in New Jersey. The nanny state legislators want to give away everything, but forcing this kind of legislation on employers is the beginning of the end. It will drive employers right out of New Jersey, increasing the already alarming exodus of manufacturing and other jobs and residents in general.

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Ann Richardson, blogging at the Business at Hand, The Newark Star-Ledger

The state must stop trying to impose mandates and requirements on businesses that our competitors in other states simply don't have to deal with.

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Philip Kirschner, New Jersey Business and Industry Association president. The Associated Press State & Local Wire.

It should occur at the national level and not at the state level. My concern about paid family leave in New Jersey is it will make us uncompetitive with other states such as Pennsylvania.

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New Jersey Senate Minority Leader Leonard Lance (R).The Associated Press State & Local Wire.

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