Omaha business owners react to Nebraska’s paid sick leave measure

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) – At Nodest Plants near 24th and Harney, you’ll find Shannon Beck doing what she loves.

“Just to give everyone the confidence to take care of their house plants,” Beck said.

Beck enjoys running her small business with her four employees who work there. She admits that with limited helping hands, planning can be difficult, but she always provides paid sick leave.

“It doesn’t really impact me that much if my employees spend one hour every 40 hours,” Beck said. “It’s easy.”

Beck also believes it’s the right thing to do and fully supports the measure passed in Nebraska’s general election on Tuesday. It entitles all state employees to paid sick leave. Those who work for a company with 20 or more employees can earn up to 56 hours per year. For small companies like Nodest with fewer than 20 employees, this is up to 40 hours per year.

While some small business owners see the new measure as exciting, others, such as Alfie Kasio, see it as a problem. Cascio runs his small family business, Cascio’s Steakhouse. He is concerned that the new requirements will hurt his business.

“I figured it would be about $20,000 a year for us,” Cascio said. “So we’re going to have to adjust a little bit.”

In total, the steakhouse employs 35 employees. Casio provides furlough leave to some of its full-time and contract employees. He said he’s also concerned about how people will use their paid sick time.

“People say they’re sick when they’re not,” Cascio said. “This especially happens during the holidays and times when we are very busy.”

Other business owners, such as Katina Talley, who runs Sweet Magnolia’s Bakery, share Cascio’s sentiments. However, she believes paid sick leave is good for business.

“I think overall it not only provides a stable environment for your workers, but it also makes your place of work attractive,” Talley said.

Under the paid sick leave measure, employees would have to work 30 hours to earn each hour of paid sick leave.