Family leave rebuttal
In response to the May 10 editorial and comments from Brienna Ruiz (May 17), it seems to me neither consider the small employer’s point of view.
Has it been considered that not all employees’ positions are interchangeable? An employer with 26 employees may have them in several different departments, or for that matter in more than one location. Each employee has a certain responsibility and is trained for the position he/she holds.
It’s not a matter of corruption as Ms. Ruiz believes, but of operating a business. It’s doubtful that a business has overstaffed itself, so what does it do when one team member needs to take extended leave? Hiring a replacement is not only costly but if this bill were to pass, the business would be paying two salaries for the same job. If the employee isn’t replaced, others have to work harder to fill the void and may not have the experience, skill or knowledge to do so.
We seem to want to vilify businesses in this country, forgetting that’s where the jobs come from, particularly from small businesses.
Kathy Miller, Fresno
This story was originally published May 19, 2015 at 9:00 AM with the headline "Family leave rebuttal."