Compromise Effort On Sick Days Initative Derailed

Ted Strickland, Ohio governor, and Lee Fisher, lieutenant governor, said last week their efforts to develop a compromise to keep the proposed paid sick day initiative off the ballot failed.

Also, Strickland and Fisher said they are opposed to the ballot initiative.

Ohioans For Healthy Families, a coalition of more than 200 organizations, has garnered over 200,000 signatures to put the Ohio Healthy Families Act on the ballot in November.

The OHFA calls for employers who have 25 or more workers to offer workers seven paid sick days a year; part-time workers would be able to earn paid sick time on a pro-rated basis.

Business and industry leaders oppose the proposal, claiming the paid sick days law will be difficult-to-administer, expensive mandate that will lead to more job losses in Ohio's diffi cult economic times.

If Ohio voters approve the OHFA, paid sick days become state law.

Archbold was drawn into the paid sick days debate when Jim Wyse, Archbold mayor, said an unnamed company dropped its plan to locate 500 or more new jobs in the village because of the paid sick days proposal.

Compromise

Keith Dailey, spokesman for Strickland, said the governor felt the failure of compromise talks was unfortunate.

Dailey said both sides- business community leaders who oppose the OHFA and proponents- came together "in a good-faith effort."

Dailey said the two sides worked through 50 concerns about the OHFA that were identified by the business community, but "a middle-ground compromise leading to the remove of the ballot issue was not achievable.

Oppose

Strickland and Fisher said, "We also recognize it is important to make clear our thoughts on important public policy issues and today, we are announcing that we cannot support the paid sick-day ballot initiative.

"While we would hope that all Ohio businesses would make paid sick days available to their employees whenever possible, we believe that this initiative is unworkable, unwieldy, and would be detrimental to Ohio's economy, and we will be opposing it and asking Ohioans to oppose it as a result."

Dailey said Strickland and Fisher, the two top elected offi cials in the state, believe that their first priority is keeping and growing jobs in Ohio.