LETTER TO THE EDITOR: State’s minimum-wage increase, family-leave legislation will cost jobs

Dear Editor:

Studies demonstrate that legislative-imposed minimum-wage programs like the one recently included in Albany’s 2016-17 budget agreement increase unemployment, drive business relocations, and undermine manufacturers’ ability to retain employees.

A 2013 Bureau of Labor Statistics study found that a $1 minimum wage increase translates to a 1.48 percent unemployment increase, a 0.18 percent decrease in the net job growth rate, and a 4.67 percent rise in teen unemployment. A 2014 Congressional Budget Office study projected that increasing the minimum wage to only $10.10 would cost some 500,000 workers their jobs. The new minimum wage in New York state will eventually be $15 per hour.

Albany’s legislation also includes a “12-week paid family leave policy” that cripples employers’ ability to effectively schedule production and provide other employee time-off benefits. The Business Council of New York State made its position clear: the “budget deal includes the most expansive Paid Family Leave law in the nation, while leaving out meaningful business cost reductions…”

While Albany boasts that its deal is a “victory” for New York employees, the reality is that it simply does nothing for those workers losing their jobs as a result of it.

Albany continues to ignore the taxpayers’ call to cut wasteful government spending. Instead, the politicians just keep passing along their obligations to New York’s business owners. By doing so, their legislative-imposed, minimum-wage increases will garner votes, without costing Albany anything.

The state’s manufacturing community is not opposed to providing its employees with expanded compensation plans and benefits. We want to remain and grow employment in New York state, but Albany’s budget deals just keep discouraging us from doing that.

Sincerely,
Frank Giotto
CEO, Giotto Enterprises