Blog: Increasing Flexibility for Companies to Keep Jobs in Ohio
These are tough times for small business owners. With the high cost of fuel, a still-challenging credit market, and rising competition from countries like China, many small business owners have trouble keeping their heads above water. Each day can present a new set of challenges for the mom-and-pop corner store in Chillicothe or the start-up manufacturer in Mansfield.
And unfortunately, one of the realities of our current recession is layoffs. Employers want to do right by their employees, and many do everything they can before laying off loyal workers.
During the last several weeks in Washington, we’ve seen a high-stakes debate take place over how to get our fiscal house in order. But when it comes down to it, the best way to reduce our deficit is to get Americans back into good-paying jobs—or ensure that they can keep the job they already have. After all, there are 14 million Americans who would prefer to pay taxes rather than depend solely on unemployment insurance.
That’s why I’ve introduced the Layoff Prevention Act, a bill to prevent further layoffs and job loss through new incentives for short-time compensation (STC).
Short-time compensation programs allow employers to reduce all employees’ hours by a percentage, rather than laying off a portion of their workforce. Workers would then be compensated for lost wages through existing unemployment insurance programs. For business leaders—faced with the prospect of having to let go some percentage of their highly-skilled workforce because of a rough patch—short-time compensation allows them to keep workers on the job with reduced hours until they can bring them back on full-time when business rebounds.
STC programs, which are voluntary, can help prevent business disruption and skill erosion by allowing businesses to keep employees on the job. With fewer workers unemployed, there is then less of a burden on the UI system. And typically, workers would continue to receive critical job-related benefits—like health insurance—that they might otherwise lose if they were laid off.
This common-sense approach has wide-ranging support. Kevin Hassett—a former advisor to John McCain and director of economic policy at the American Enterprise Institute—supports this approach, noting that STC programs help workers and employers. By keeping their jobs, workers can remain in their homes, save for their children’s college, and plan for their economic future. Businesses benefit by retaining their most valuable asset: a motivated and skilled workforce.
Currently, 23 states across the country—with Democratic and Republican governors alike—operate short-time compensation programs. Ohio does not currently have an STC program in place.
Under the Layoff Prevention Act, even if a state does not pass a law establishing a program, the state can submit a plan to be approved by the U.S. Department of Labor, to be considered eligible for support.
According to the Labor Department, short-time compensation programs saved approximately 165,000 jobs in 2009. One analysis found that in addition to saving jobs, short-time compensation also helps speed economic recovery, as every dollar devoted to finance state STC programs results in an estimated $1.69 in gross domestic product (GDP).
Short-time compensation means employees can depend on a paycheck instead of living solely on unemployment insurance. And businesses are able to retain workers and avoid retraining and rehiring efforts.
With a challenging jobs picture, we need to examine every tool at our disposal. To be sure, a full economic revitalization must be multi-faceted. That means easing the credit market for small businesses so they can expand and add jobs through vigorous enforcement of trade laws, and expanded opportunities for businesses to compete in a global marketplace.
Short-time compensation is an innovative way to help protect jobs and improve worker morale. So while short-time compensation alone won’t fully solve our jobs deficit, it is an important investment in workers and businesses that our economy needs.
Tom Horwitz
2:46 am on Friday, July 22, 2011
Excellent, forward-thinking idea, Senator. But I have a few questions. Is there a limit to how long a worker could be on STC? Can an employer pick and choose which employees are to go on STC? Will employers of STC employees see a bump in their unemployment insurance premiums? Are there any protections for employees from employers who would use STC to reduce the hours an employee works so that employee is no longer eligible to participate in the employer's health care plan, thereby reducing the employer's health insurance costs?
Robin Anderson
8:42 am on Friday, July 22, 2011
Sounds like an expensive way to eliminate the "no-cash-benefit-waiting week" most non-union employees must now go through. Further, what consideration is given to any accumulated comp-time/vacation time the employee may have?
James Thomas
10:08 am on Friday, July 22, 2011
Amazing,
"But when it comes down to it, the best way to reduce our deficit is to get Americans back into good-paying jobs—or ensure that they can keep the job they already have."
In other words, in order to get our act together, we need to GROW THE ECONOMY, and to do this we need to encourage capitalism. It is wonderful to to see the normally brain challenged, ultra liberal Senator Brown finally wrap his mind around a concept that might work for all instead of just his supporters. A simpler way to do this would be to cut the business taxes and let the people doing the work make the choices best for them rather than setting up a program that must be administered and monitored by government. Get out of business's way and you'll see some real growth.
W
2:49 pm on Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Get out of the way and let businesses do their thing! Wow, what color is the sky in your world?
Businesses did their thing during the idiot son years and we saw how that turned out. Enron, Lehman Bros.,Foreclosures, BK's, bailouts for too big too fails, unemployment.
Some inconvenient FACTS - The 400 wealthiest people in this country control more of the country's assets than do the poorest 60 per cent.
One percent of the US owns 25 percent of the assets.
In Japan a typical CEO earns 30 times what his average employee makes. In Europe's advanced economies, CEO compensation averages between 40 and 60 times what the average employee makes.
In the US, the average CEO earns 400 times what his employee makes, meaning the CEO earns more in a day than what the employee earns in a year.
The idea that businesses are somehow suffering because of too much regulation and high taxes is ludicrous.
Bush cut taxes across the board, if high taxes were the problem in the economy where was the growth? Ooops, another mission not accomplished.
James Thomas
12:37 pm on Thursday, July 28, 2011
WKJ,
It's blue; what color is it on your planet? You seem in serious need of growing up. Your childish and churlish post came over my computer in crayon.
"One percent of the US owns 25 percent of the assets". And they pay 38% of the taxes.
"In Japan a typical CEO earns 30 times what his average employee makes. In Europe's advanced economies, CEO compensation averages between 40 and 60 times what the average employee makes. " Move there, whats stopping you?
Don't use emotionally loaded terms like "idiot son" when refering to the POUS because the current holder of the office could be called the same and deserves our respect due to his election. Small Business is the engine of growth today and is being strangled by regulation and taxes, and you promote that.
W
1:58 pm on Thursday, July 28, 2011
With your analysis skills it's no wonder youre so familiar with crayons
Small businesses are NOT the engine of growth in our economy, that's another factoid that is tossed about by people who've never been in business.
Inconvenient Fact - The highest earners in this society ($270 million annually) pay an average of 18 %, while the middle class pays about 28%
Pointing out the inequities in CEO compensation between the US and Japan and Europe
causes the typical non-response - "Duh, if ya dont like it why dont ya move there, duh?"
I'll repeat the point - if lowering taxes and getting out of the way of business leads to economic success, why didn't it work under the idiot princeling?
Mission not accomplished.
James Thomas
2:17 pm on Thursday, July 28, 2011
OH FACTOIDS,
under the "idiot princeling" it did.
Tom Tucker
11:36 am on Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Your opinion/belief JT does not constitute fact.
You got your clock cleaned. Stop acting like a senile, old whiny fool already. It's embarrassing.
Robin Anderson
1:07 pm on Friday, July 22, 2011
Naw, JT. Corporate entities like GE not paying taxes on 5.1 BILLION dollars profit, the oil industry's receipt of BILLIONS of dollars in government subsidies despite continued record profits, the likes of Infocision & Summa with enough spare cash to buy advertising at a local football stadium, all point to the fact that "job creation" is not number one on many corporate agendas.
We don't need to kow-tow to those interests to keep them here. If they want to do business in/with the most stable, secure & vibrant economy on the face of this earth, well, the costs taxes incurred in creating same are just another cost of doing business.
James Thomas
1:48 pm on Friday, July 22, 2011
RA,
All businesses, large and especially small, would cheer any decrease in the paperwork that they must complete to satisfy the current regulatory and taxing schemes. GE and the oil industry and Summa do in fact employ 100's of thousands if not millions of people. Whether moral or not their tax stratagies are currently legal. The Smaller companies would benefit disproportionally more by lessening their regulatory and taxing structures. I do agree that Senator Brown's proposal does seem to be "Goldbergian" in its implementation which would never be truely cost effective.
John
3:09 pm on Friday, July 22, 2011
NO ONE, except the govt, hires millions.
James Thomas
5:36 pm on Friday, July 22, 2011
John,
the Oil Industry as a whole probably comes close.
John J.J. Schmidt
12:23 pm on Monday, July 25, 2011
I always get a kick out of reading these posts when people throw out big words and fancy terms. Sometimes it is hard to tell whether they are truly educated or just have sesquipedalian tendencies. Either way, his proposal may seem "Goldbergian" only if you buy into, and combine, simple minded ideas like "encourage capitalization", "cut the business taxes" and "get out of business's way". But several decades of deregulation and tax cuts have taken us from no deficit to the largest we have ever seen, a financial collapse of the country and highest unemployment rate in quite some time. Corporate profits are up, taxes are down. This is obviously not working. So, to fix things the idea is cut taxes even more, deregulate even more! If you pay into social security and medicare your entire life and then once you retire are told you will have to take a decrease in benefits or elimination altogether, then that is the same to that person as raising there taxes. But its ok to raise taxes (decrease benefits) for poor, elderly, hard working people just not right for multi-billion dollar companies. It is a civic duty to pay taxes. Yes, cut waste and be fiscally conservative but not to the point of being irresponsible. I do not feel bad for big oil, insurance companies, the Koch brothers or even GE. Start sharing profits, if not with employees, then through taxes to make this country better. Employees and unions are not ruining this country, loopholes for corporate jets are.
Steven Bushong
2:56 pm on Tuesday, July 26, 2011
This is one of the most level-headed comments I've read in a while. Thank you for sharing this planet with me!
Robin Anderson
11:02 am on Wednesday, July 27, 2011
J.J.J.S.??? Wow, I haven't heard of a monicker like that since G.H.W.B.! While I agree with the bulk of your comments about tax cuts & deregulation, I can only assume that your inference that someone with "sesquipedalian tendencies" is not "truly educated" stems from a desire for a slick intro for the attack on your opponent's points of debate, eh? Especially as my Webster's contains no such characterization in it's definition of the word.
John J.J. Schmidt
9:31 am on Thursday, July 28, 2011
I ironically used the word sesquipedalian as a joke to poke fun at the use of "Goldbergian" and never meant that such tendencies were synonymous with lower IQ. Irony is sometimes lost today!
James Thomas
12:56 pm on Thursday, July 28, 2011
and sometimes it's not
Robin Anderson
3:23 pm on Thursday, July 28, 2011
J.J.-Naw, not after you flamed anyone who might side with JT's statements as "simple minded"; at least you didn't use the "drink the grape cool-aid" analogy. Try "antiquated" next time.
James Thomas
1:06 pm on Monday, July 25, 2011
John J.J. Schmidt,
I think you are suffering from brain inversion. Anyone who would use the term sesquipedalian ("characterized by long words") to decry the use of long terms needs serious therapy. The fact of the matter is that in all things, governmental and personal, we all need to KISS. "KEEP IT SIMPLE STUPID". Eliminate the expensive and unneccesary levels of government, get out of the way of creativity and let the creators of wealth do their thing and enjoy their work. NOBODY OWES ME NOTHING. What I use I earn.
John J.J. Schmidt
3:09 pm on Monday, July 25, 2011
Of course its obvious that I used the term in a mocking sort of way. I think they call it irony (sarcasm). But you're right I probably do need therapy. Its not that I disagree with you completely. I agree that we should eliminate unnecessary levels of government and we should never get in the way of creativity. Also, similar to you, nobody owes me anything. Except my brother, he still owes me $20. But which levels of government are unnecessary? How is creativity being bridled? And last but not least, who are the creators of wealth? From the original idea man, to the builders of the factory, to the executives that run a company, to the everyday workers, they all have a hand in the company's success. I'm not against keeping it simple but as I stated earlier deregulation and lower taxes have done nothing for our country except widen the income/wealth gap. Unfortunately small business owners are in the middle. Believe me, you don't want to be in the middle! Just ask the teachers.
Steven Bushong
3:18 pm on Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Kind of a sprawling comment here, but I'll start with this: Nobody owes you nothing, eh? It's my belief that you have already taken a lot, or will in the future. For instance, I have a hard time believing that you will never in your life accept social security, or drive on highways, or see family members off to college who are using federal grants, or eat food that was subsidized by the government and inspected for safety by the government, or fly on a plane controlled by the FAA, or visit a hospital that uses technology created by research funded by the government, or -- not to get too carried away -- live in a society that is more or less stabilized by the government -- the laws and leaders that should have our best interests at heart. I like the idea of the libertarian -- that everyone should fend for themselves. But what would the United States be if the poor and elderly were left to live on the little they have, if they have anything at all? Inhumane. I like the idea of the capitalist -- that the markets will regulate themselves. But there's this thing called greed, and the U.S. is heavily inflicted by it. I do believe that more planes would crash if there were no FAA. I do believe that more people would be sick if there were no FDA. I do believe we would lose our position as the most medically advance nation if it weren't for the NIH. Maybe government could be smarter and more efficient, but I believe it's needed. What parts are unnecessary, James?
James Thomas
12:18 pm on Thursday, July 28, 2011
Steven B.,
where to start, your assumptions are wrong, believe it. I'm OPERS so no SS even through my wife and glad of it. Yes I drive the highways and pay the gas tax to pay for it. I have paid for (and in my opinion been rooked by) the university system of Ohio for my two fabulous children and they have no student debt. I garden some of my own food. I haven't flown since 2005. I live in a society that is smothered by government and that is going to have to end. Yes, no one owes me anything and I'm going to stop paying your bills.
Robin Anderson
4:02 pm on Monday, July 25, 2011
A flat tax is based on the KISS principle but I haven't heard of many Chambers of Commerce or the Small Business Administration pushing for same and we certainly know how Congress feels about this issue! Too many folk paid handsomely for the chase while too many Congresspersons enjoy(depend on) the prestige of dispensing the largesse.
James Thomas
1:42 pm on Thursday, July 28, 2011
Oh My,
I love the idea of a flat tax. Lead the charge and I will follow. Yea to the GATES OF HELL.
joseph
5:10 pm on Monday, July 25, 2011
Sen Sherrod Brown I had called your office several times with no real answer to my question, and YOU SEN Sherrod Brown stated you will get back with me and never did.
You back the Cap and Trade bill ? that would help the small business. You lost my respect and vote.
Bonnie Fraser
10:01 am on Thursday, July 28, 2011
Joseph, please don't think that Senator Brown is the only representative to ignore feedback from constituants. On May 26, I sent a comment to Betty Sutton, got a robo reply of thanks plus the promise "a response will be sent shortly." It's now the end of July and I still haven't heard anything from her or her office.
James Thomas
2:02 pm on Thursday, July 28, 2011
All Democrats
who are not that idiot Kucinich/Brown reply to voters. And Kucinich/Brown only respond to their own contributors.
Tom Tucker
11:36 am on Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Or, you people can stop being LAZY and pick up a piece of paper and a pen and actually WRITE A LETTER, rather than staying planted on your rump and sending an email.
I've received more ACTUAL and PERSONAL responses when I've actually sent a letter. If you can't take the time to do that, why do you think they should take the time to respond to one -- of tons -- of emails?
If people aren't clueless, they're lazy.
Tom Tucker
11:36 am on Tuesday, June 19, 2012
And, I've emailed Republicans, too and received robo-responses from them, too.
James continuing to carry the water (or are you on your knees) and making excuses for Republicons while showing he's getting more ignorant as he gets older.
Robin Anderson
3:32 pm on Thursday, July 28, 2011
JT, at least Representative Kucinich had the honesty, integrity and kahunas not to buy into President Bush's "where there's smoke, there's fire" WMD fiasco prior to our Nation's poorly-advised attempt at nation-building in Iraq! He also yanked President Obama's chain so hard re his "authority" to involve us in the overthrow of Libya's current government that he had both parties scrambling to make him go away. Sounds like a very good medium to me.
James Thomas
7:41 pm on Thursday, July 28, 2011
RA,
I concede the point on Libya. However, becoming the poster child for political scorn has not made Rep. K any points. He still is, overall, a national laughingstock.
Robin Anderson
6:32 am on Friday, July 29, 2011
I'd guess that some folk are too easily amused, JT.
PolitiFact Ohio at one year: 218 statements checked, lots more to come
Published: Sunday, July 24, 2011, 5:58 AM Updated: Sunday, July 24, 2011, 1:03 PM. By Stephen Koff, The Plain Dealer
Steve Rosen
11:04 pm on Friday, July 29, 2011
Thanks Senator. Keep fighting the good fight and looking out for the masses.
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