In the News

EDITORIAL: An assault on Colorado’s service economy

From The Gazette Editorial Board

The other shoe has dropped — with the weight of a wrecking ball — in the wake of last November’s election. Colorado’s rebuff of Republicans on the ballot appears to have emboldened legislative Democrats to draw a bead on the business community as never before.

That became clear as news emerged last week of what could be the mother of all business-busting legislation. Labeled “Fair Workweek Employment Standards,” a measure soon to be introduced would dictate details of work schedules, pay and other conditions for service workers across a broad swath of Colorado’s economy.

The Colorado Chamber of Commerce hasn’t taken a formal stance on the bill, yet, because it hasn’t been introduced. But chamber President Loren Furman put it in perspective.

“The proposal fails to recognize the basic operational needs of businesses, and we’re concerned about the impact it will have on our economic climate and competitiveness,” Furman told us. “It would impose broad new regulations and restrictions on how employers manage scheduling practices, placing unnecessary and often unfeasible burdens on both businesses and workers.”

“We want Colorado to be a place where business leaders choose to invest, innovate and create jobs,” she said, “but policies like this only do more to drive companies out of the state.”

To read the full editorial, please click here.