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Capital Concerns
Committee Approves Legislation on Corporate ‘Ethics'
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Business New Haven
3/23/1998
By: BNH
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Several measures referred to as “corporate responsibility” legislation have been forwarded out of the Labor & Public Employees Committee. The bills are now up for consideration, and possibly a vote, by the full General Assembly.
Only one proposal in the package failed to make it out of the committee's meeting on March 10, the deadline for forwarding bills. That proposal, concerning living wages, called for supplementing the employment wages of former recipients of temporary family welfare. The Connecticut Business & Industry Association, which characterized the package as “anti-jobs,” expressed relief that at least one measure died in committee.
“That bill would have been inequitable and in the long run it probably would have hurt the employees because of the employee-relations problem [employees would] have,” said Bonnie Stewart, CBIA's counsel for labor issues.
Still, Stewart said she had plenty still to be worried about - the five remaining bills:
n SB-79, An Act Concerning Noncompete Contracts
n SB-273, An Act Concerning Standards for Economic Development Grants and Service Contracts
n SB-274, An Act Concerning Workers in Contingent and Part-Time Work
n SB-311, An Act Concerning the State Minimum Wage
n and HB-5327, An Act Setting Standard Wage Rates for Certain Service Workers.
Stewart was critical of the Labor Committee.
“The legislation they send out is very extreme,” she said. “One of the biggest problems is they send out almost anything - a sort of wear-'em down attitude. They say they're not anti-business, but their actions speak otherwise.”
But organized labor and other proponents of the measures say they will strengthen workers' rights by requiring certain companies to offer “decent wages”; cap CEO salaries; pro-rate salaries and benefits for qualified part-timers; and bar companies from making employees sign non-compete contracts if they earn less than $200,000 a year.
Committee Approves
Child-Labor Proposal
The Labor Committee has also approved a bill that would reduce the number of hours students under 18 can work on school days. Presently, students can work up to 48 hours a week, or nine hours a day on school days. The bill, which was sent to the House, limits students to 32 hours of work a week - no more than six hours a day on a school day. On weekends, vacations and holidays, they could work up to eight hours.
On the Web:
Fraud Protection
Sometimes it pays to be skeptical. Con artists often target small businesses and employees in Connecticut with scams that appear legitimate - promising to save them money on office supplies or to funnel their donations to charities.
The Web site of the Attorney General's office offers tips on spotting scams and protecting your company. Among the most common schemes: business opportunities, phony billing, prizes and promotions, coupon books and vanity publishing.
Check out the site at http://www.cslnet.ctstateu.edu/attygenl/bizness.htm
Housing Permits
Climb 73 Percent
State municipalities issued 73 percent more housing permits in January than they did in the same month a year ago, a sign of continued strength in the state's housing industry, the state Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) says. There were 737 permits issued in January, compared with 427 a year earlier.
“Last year, the housing sector posted the biggest permit increase in eight years,” said DECD Commissioner James F. Abromaitis. “We are encouraged that the January 1998 numbers indicate strong growth continues.”
To make comments or suggestions
for the state government section, contact freelance writer Jennifer M. Gangloff through BNH or via e-mail at jgangloff@erols.com
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