The one phrase that kept coming up at Friday's New York State Senate hearing on regulatory reform in Syracuse, was "death by a thousand cuts." Manufacturers were the focus today as lawmakers travel around the state trying to identify regulations that are getting in the way of business.
One of the regulations State Sen. John DeFransisco called asinine at today's hearing, springs from the Wage Theft Prevention Act. Employers are required to provide employees with a yearly notice regarding their compensation, information that is already on their paycheck.
Nathan Andrews, president of Morse Manufacturing in East Syracuse does this personally.
"It's the same conversation every time I walk out back. 'What is this? It's showing that I'm not stealing from you. What's on it? Well it's the same information that's on your paycheck. Well why do I have to sign it. Well, New York makes you do that.' It's a nonsensical requirement," said Andrews.
Manufacturer's Organizations say individually, regulations like this, don't impede business in New York state on their own. But they say when you add this to other regulations from a dozen different state agencies, there is a chilling effect on business expansion, and it also solidifies the state's reputation as anti-business.
"It's all these little things, that burden, take my time, take time from my employees, and takes it away from truly doing what's in the best interest of our employees and our customers," said Andrews.
Lawmakers are hoping to come up with recommendations later this year, culled from these hearings, that would eliminate some of the outdated or duplicative regulations mandated by state government.
