A Louisiana business group is urging state lawmakers to oppose two bills relating to worker rights that critics say would create new venues for civil lawsuits and add to burdens facing small businesses.
Dawn Starns McVea, senior state director for the National Federation of Independent Business in Louisiana, said frivolous lawsuits could increase if the state legislature passes Senate Bill 215 or House Bill 245.
SB 215 would make it unlawful for affected businesses not to make reasonable accommodations for workers who become temporarily disabled through pregnancy, childbirth or other conditions. And businesses could not legally ask job applicants about their wage histories – or discriminate against employees based upon such information -- under the provisions of HB 245.
“We believe this wage history legislation will only create more opportunities to sue employers and tie their hands when hiring,” Starns McVea said in an email to the Louisiana Record. “Our members are already reporting difficulty finding qualified workers, and this will do nothing to improve that situation.”
In addition, legislation such as HB 245 fails to address the issue of equal pay for equal work, as supporters of the bill claim, she said.
“It merely allows government to interfere in the employer-employee relationship,” Starns McVea said.
The money required for a small business to defend against a lawsuit filed over such employment issues can be enough to put a small firm out of business, even if the plaintiff ultimately loses, according to the NFIB.
“Our small business members are eager to address the underlying issues here, but SB 215 and HB 245 would do little besides make trial lawyers even richer, which is why we’re asking legislators to vote ‘no,’” Starns McVea said.
SB 215 would apply to businesses that employ as few as 15 people within the state, compared to a threshold of 25 employees in the present law governing accommodations for workers with temporary disabilities. In addition, the bill would allow violations to be reported to the Louisiana Commission on Human Rights.