May 11, 2007

Fresno Chamber Gives a Different Meaning to, “We Mean Business”

On April 18, 2007 the Chamber’s Government Affairs delegation, including Ruth Evans, owner of the Evans HR Group, and Oran Cogdill, owner of Best Western Garden Court Inn testified in front of the Assembly Labor and Employment Committee in support of AB 510 (Benoit; R-Palm Desert), the Flexible Workweek Bill. AB 510 would allow employees to work four 10-hour days a week if the employee desires the schedule and the employer agrees to the compressed schedule. AB 510 is a win-win situation for both employer and employee. Most importantly, this bill would provide individual workers much needed flexibility to permit four-day workweeks for workers desiring to find a balance between work and personal lives.

During testimony, Evans stated, “Having more flexibility in employees’ work schedules would allow them to spend more time with their families, tending to children or the needs of older relatives without having to sacrifice time from work. Each household has different needs and this bill gives each employee the flexibility to decide which schedule works best for their employee.” In a follow up to Evan’s comments, Cogdill was able to give a personal testimony on how this legislation would affect his specific business needs in the hotel industry. “Since the busiest time at my hotel is Thursday-Sunday, many of my employees could benefit from working four ten-hour days and getting the three slow days off.”

The Fresno Chamber will be taking multiple trips to Sacramento this legislation session to speak to our elected officials about legislation that will affect the business climate including healthcare reform, worker’s compensation, tax reforms, wages, and much more. If the Chamber does not represent the interests’ of business, who will?