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Senator Gruenhagen relays constituent complaints about sick-leave rules and rising unemployment taxes
Summary
At the Jan. 30 meetingSenator Gruenhagen described constituent concerns from a Sleepy Eye small business about earned sick-and-safe-time administration and a recent rise in unemployment tax rates; he warned some businesses are relocating out of state to reduce costs.
At the end of the Jan. 30 session, Senator Gruenhagen offered comments summarizing written concerns from a constituent who is a bookkeeper at a Sleepy Eye business. Gruenhagen said the employee planned to leave and the employer reported difficulty administering earned sick-and-safe-time (ESST) for seasonal interns and part-time workers.
Gruenhagen told the committee that unemployment insurance rates had risen for the business. "The unemployment tax used to be point 10 for a very long time. This year, it started at point 40... Now it went up to point 53. For this small midsize business, this is going to add $15,000 a year in additional cost to the company," he said, attributing the figures to his constituent. Gruenhagen said the business is experiencing a sales slump and the owner had considered moving operations out of Minnesota; he described a separate family business that relocated to South Dakota and estimated the family expected to save $12 million over 10-12 years after moving.
Sen. Gruenhagen characterized the remarks as "food for thought" for colleagues, noting the comments were constituent reports rather than committee findings. No committee action was taken on these matters during the hearing.
