>> hi, my name is rich gun and i am a cpa in san francisco. my firm is (inaudible) and we have 200 employees and i have clients that are all over the city from bay view, out to the great highway and, practically every neighborhood. and i talked with them about this potential legislation and what they think of it and a lot of people were angry. and i didn't understand their anger at the beginning because when i asked them about their practices? and i have observed their practices and i always thought that they had a very flexible work arrangement and were very generous to their employees in these situations they were angry that someone at the city hall wants to sit behind their desk and dictate how they do their job and dictate how they run their business and when i have the potential clients from outside of california and outside of the country who talk about where she should open up the united states operation and ask me about all of the

mandates that san francisco puts on them that other cities and counties do not, they view this as a hostile work environment and may not be the worst legislation that you have seen. but it is one more thing that makes doing business in san francisco more difficult and the perception of a hostile business community and in the relationship to city hall. and in terms of the costs, anything that takes time away from my business, costs me money. in terms of families leaving san francisco, this legislation anot going to do anything that bad. they are leaving because they can't afford the house heres and because they lack faith in our public schools this does nothing for that. >> most of my clients, this is dealing with not the big problems of san francisco, this is sort of window dressing. and why don't people at city hall who are writing this, really tackle the tough issues that are really making people leave san francisco. and if you go, to your compute and her google, the biggest

problems in san francisco, i thought that i would take 20 minutes to do this i spent three hours, this never came up. >> ten or 20 clients today and this was never a priority for them. most clients have the technology and the concern and the care to be competitive. this is not going to change that. thank you. >> thank you, next speaker please? >> rafy, (inaudible) and i am the son of a small business owner as well as there was a time in or during our (inaudible) that he hit a rough patch in his own business. and my mom had to go and find employment of her own. and now, while she was doing her work, the schedules were

very unpredictable and it has come down to the point where my brother and i occasionally would have like i would have to miss school certain days to take care of my little brother because my mom's schedule. and while he was sick. it is moments like these that makes me really think about how we can, you know, help, you know, wage workers, and wage earners, and how we can help families, you know, cope with the moments where they can't, where they can't deal with these unforeseen circumstances, when you are having the people set up, the schedules for you, and maybe, with the week or less in advance, and it makes for a very difficult situation when you are trying to plan for your family. and i know that my mom in the time that she had to spend while my dad was out of town, had to deal with this on

numerous occasion to work with the employer to get time with us. it was important and needed it at the time and now that we are putting it up for a decision in san francisco, i highly suggest that you guys accept and help us push forward with this campaign. happier workers, work better, my mom could be a test to that and it is not just my mother, i have run into numerous families before the numerous people, my brother who also has a very unpredictable schedule as well. we just as other family and other people who have to take care of that i grand parents that i know here in san francisco. it is a highly important, legislation, and it is very important that we push it forward. and yeah, thank you very much for your consideration. >> thank you. >> next speaker please? >> following this speaker,

aaron conna, hongtran, elizabeth, lapier. michelle mix kency. >> hello, my name is michelle and i am in support of this bill, sometimes i am helping my parents when they are sick and both work as do i, but i am a part time employee because i also go to school. and so, my job has very unpredictable hours and i would like some (inaudible) and this bill seems very fair thank you. >> good evening, thank you commissionerers, my name is aaron can and i'm recent transplant to san francisco and i have work as a data and survey evaluate or, specifically examining the qualities that make small businesses around the nation positive. and competitive workplace environments and one thing that

the data has overwhelmingly shown time and time again is that the businesses with formal flexible workplace policis in place, do have a competitive advantage over their competitive. the businesses with these policies have a much higher retention rate and leads to lower cost of high turn around rates from a qualitative standpoint, the employees who work at these places are happier and much higher rates of job satisfaction. and a hr departments asking the policies have gone into place have noted that productbility has increased substantially and most significant is that this is something that we are seeing that the workers, and particularly the workers in my generation are to expect and i bring this up until today i had

not seen it in the conversation surrounding this measure that this is not just something that has the potential to make the sense that is more attractive to families but makes the businesses more attractive to the top talent to the nation when they are deciding where to do and this is something that has to be considered. thank you. >> good evening, my name is hong tran and i have been here in san francisco for about a year. and i'm a full time working woman and i am in support of this ordinance, just standing in my mother's shoes, growing up, she had a very unpredictable schedule and she only had her schedule every thursday which was put in place by her employer and it caused problems where i had to sometimes cut back on school a little bit to take care of my

brother or maybe even was frowned don by taking off of work, it is good to have the employees to have an environment to request the flexible work schedules and i don't think that caused problems for the employers and i think that this will be a benefit to everyone. both employees and employers and there are facts behind that. thank you. >> next speaker? >> michael mackinzie, third generation business owner i have kids, they are eat and fixing their own food. >> so i just want to say i am all for a flexible work schedule and i agree completely, and you keep the employees and it is great. but what i have a problem with is that it is being mandated.

and it is burden some on the paperwork and we are going to have to keep some type of paperwork on this, we do already for health ordinance and we do for all sorts of things and i am a bit confused as to how this will work with cfra and fmla and family leave act that exists, and if you have employees asking for those leaves, which are extremely urgent in many cases and you have other people on flexible schedules already, where does that stop? and what are your obligations as an employer? >> i like to mention that 85 percent of the employers in san francisco will be excluded from this if it is ten employees or more and so it will be bringing to 20 employees i don't know where that level is, but if you are a larger employer, where are 70 people? and we have a flexibility work program. i think that you find the larger employers do that and they can and it only makes

business sense. excuse me, i was a bit disturbed by the fact that this is the right to ask. this gives the employee the right to ask. i would think that the employee has a right to ask for a flexible schedule. from anybody, whether you are 5, 10, 15, i don't see, and it should be an open door policy, if you don't have those policies, i think that you have larger problems in your business and this ordinance will not fix any of that. and it all only covers care givers and they may want to pursue a hobby and may want to go back to school. we accommodate all sorts of flexible schedules. it may help someone who is not a care giver a flexible schedule, because someone else that is a care giver who asks

for it, to me, it is not fair for those who are not care givers they will obviously take priority in this case. and so i am just a bit confused because it is so rushed. and we really, i know, think that we need to sit down and take a look at more depth as a business community because we have yet to speak to our supervisor about this as well. i would ask that propose for a flexible work schedule and this is too rushed and needs to be addressed by the business community as well. >> thank you. >> next speaker please? >> elizabeth lafier, keith goldstein and kelley dwight. kathleen cole? >> keith? >> good evening commissioners, i'm the president of the (inaudible) patch merchant's association we have 160 small business members and i am the

owner of (inaudible) water proofing and i have about 65 employees and i run the business in the city for 37 years now. and i'm no hard line business owner, and i actually considered myself a progressive. and i find that most issues i stand just slightly to the left of the reverend al sharpton. >> and i will provide the flexible work outs where it is possible. i think that paid sick leave is a great program. i paid 100 percent of the employer's healthcare from the day that i started my business. and i don't explain about the 40,000 that i pay each year in payroll tax to me that is the cost of the privilege of doing business in the wonderful city. i am like a company and i have been threatened to leave the city if i think that it is a special tax deal. but i will be forced to move my business from this city if this guaranteed scheduling requirement remains in this legislation. i was surprised to hear

supervisor chiu say that he ran a business because if you do run a business you would understand that a like mind and like most of the members of the organization you would understand the problems of trying to guarantee a schedule, i am a contractor two weeks ago it rained out of you blue, am i supposed to guarantee that it is not supposed to rain? sni. i got a call from the companies, his truck had broken down and no skaf ford and no work. >> my friend that runs a catering company she gets a call that there is 50 less attendties should she staff the ivebt at the same level? there are numerous reasons why schedules may change, there is no way that most employers can guard against such unforeseen events. and so it puts us at enormous disadvantage and what the employers that i have heard already is that the members are going to guarantee the minimum number of hours in that two

week or the one week look ahead schedule and so we are going to have the disgruntled employees and instead of the loyal and dedicated workforce you are going to have people that are pissed off because we are told that only going to get a work a minimum number of hours and that is going to cause all sorts of decent in a company. >> and the supervisor's point is similar legislation in brit tan and i did used to live there and i do know something about legislation there and this is much tougher. and there is no scheduling requirement in the legislation, and it is not enerous here. i don't feel that this legislation is geared towards the san francisco family and most san francisco families can't live here, do things like improved affordable housing and transit and schools and this is scoring popularity points about small businesses. thank you. >> next speaker, please?

>> >> hi, good evening, commissioners my name is kelley dyer, and i am a contract officer with the city of san francisco and i work an 8-5 schedule and yes, it is dinner time but my 3-year-old here cannot be at homemaking dinner by herself so i need to be with her. currently my child care provider spends more time with my child than i do and that is difficult sometimes. i support this because i would like the option to be able to ask for the flexibility and be protected in that right to ask for a more flexible schedule. and i would just like to have the flexibility to spend a little pit more time with my kids during the week. and i think that it is a reality to have to work and times have changed in 2010, in san francisco, with at least, it was helpful with at least

one child. 81 percent were in the workforce. and i don't think that the work culture has sort of kept up with this. and i think that it has hurt families and children, and you know, i think that for many familis that this will make a world of difference for me, my husband has a job where he has gone two or three days a week, and i don't have family here and it is difficult, being, you know, the sort of single mother of part time, if you will and just to have that bit of flexibility, and to be protected in that right to ask and to know that it is okay to ask. and it would make a huge difference for me, a difference for me in a lot of san francisco families. so i urge you to support this measure, thanks. >> next speaker? >> following this speaker, jim

laserus, karin haidlberg. >> thea selby, sandra chan. >> i am just jumping ahead. >> my name is kathleen cole and i am here to speak in support of the proposal. i am supposed to reveal to you that i have two children at home having dinner without me. i rushed to work and left them at home to fend for themselves. in part because i feel that in fact this is a really important issue for those of us who raise children here in san francisco. and on the fourth generation in my family to do that. there is an actual problem and it is wonderful to hear about the employers in san francisco who are working hard to accommodate and to provide the flexibility schedules, maybe i am missing something but as i read the legislation, i don't see this as hurting the businesses it puts the floor under the rest to be fair and

so that those of you who are great employers are supported in doing so by the city. i am here to speak for you as a gender and san francisco studies at stanford university and i want to affirm that relative to the other developed countries wo do in fact have a huge problem with the family conflict and studis that say that more than 90 percent report the work family conflicts. and we do have a problem also with companies that do roll out flexible problems that come in early and leave later. but few employees are taking advantage of them. because of the flexibility stig that and the bias in which they are discredited devalued and discriminated against because they ask for rights when they are cotified by the company's policies so the workers that are aware of this do what is called bias avoidance and they don't ask and they forgo the rights that the employers would

want to offer them because of a culture, that is what i appreciate about the legislation is this right to ask and the right to open a discussion and dialogue and it so seems to me that there is reasonable employers that are doing that and it gives that right to all workers. so, it is a modest proposal and the rationale is born out by economic studies and i will leave a list of evidence with the clerk i am sorry i did not make you copies. economic studies with the positive impact on improved mental and physical health, and reduction in absenteism and increase in job satisfaction. and i just want to say that cultural changes that have been a result of these kinds of policis in other countries are not insignificant. i am also want to, and so that public discussion and public debate in the leadership of bodies like yourselves are something really positive and i want to speak as a member of

the sandwich generation that took care of their parents that aged and died while i was caring for xhirn and going to school. i relied on flexible employers that allowed me to carry on at task to advance in my career and the lowest income workers with the least amount of flexibility deserve that kind of protection that i had. thank you very much. >> thank you. >> next speaker please? >> jim lazarus, to tell us about the proposed ballot measure i said that it was beyond unbelievable but i do thank you for many hours of supervisor chiu making himself available as we worked through the legislation and as many of the speakers said that the chamber believes that go

through the normal process and legally this does not have to go to the ballot. and could be reintroduced as a code amendment and dealt with through the normal process, if it is not possible, we urge this commission to oppose the legislation as drafted. but to urge changes. the business communities that you have heard large and small here tonight, support the right of any employee to request reasonable flex time and scheduling predictbility at their workplace. but flexion time works both place, it needs to be flexible for the employee, and the employer. what happens with this legislation, is once you start down that path, originally it was going to be an appeal to the officer on the fourth floor of this building or it might go to litigation. or it might go to no required over time, in an emergency. or it might go to i have to pay even though there is no work

because the predictable work schedule said that you would be working that is not fair for the employer, it is not fair to the survival of the business. what is fair to everybody is legislation and if there are people, if there is one person, in san francisco, one parent, or one student, who does not feel comfortable asking for a flexible work schedule, passing an ordinance that says that you have the right to a flexible work schedule that you have the right to appeal back to your employer, to clarify a reason why you might have had a denial. that you have that right and you can't be discriminated against for exercising that right. that should be sufficient to move this subject forward. thank you very much. >> thank you. >> next speaker, please? >> my name is karin hederburg and i am own and operate along

with my employees a good life grocery on (inaudible) and vernal heights. i find this legislation really rushed. i am in a quandry on being on the same side of the chamber of commerce jim, and i am usually never agreeing with the chamber. but, this legislation really bothers me. and it is called the family friendly workplace, legislation and that bothers me to come out against it. and we are a family, friendly workplace because every person that we hire and talk to and work with, and there is a lot of young people and a lot of single mothers, we know their schedule and they have the right to ask, because we are comfortable with our employees. we have 65 employees. and that should not change it by 65 employees or if i have five employees. that relationship needs to be

there. they do have the right to ask and they do. i have every weekly news schedule i probably have three schedule requests i want to do this, i got to school change i have got a doctor's appointment and we meet them all but everyone has to be flexible if you get a time off to do something that you have to do you need to help the next person who needs the time off to help them get what they want to do. so, this legislation just takes and makes an enforcement of something, and i mean the appeal process, the record keeping, i have got 30 schedule requests a week, for 4 years, i am going to keep those in case someone is disgruntled and that is time consuming. and the enforcement and the appeals process. and i mean, i consider myself, a progressive, a very,

progressive employer. i know my employees. and i know their needs and it is handled not only in what they do, but how they responding to their jobs. and this legislation puts an onerous responsibility on myself in case there is an appeal in case there is problems. it is a lot of in case this happens. we should encourage the right to ask, but we should encourage it for a businesses with 65 employees as well as 2 employees. thank you very much. >> thank you. >> next speaker, please? >> hello, commissioners, my name is thea selby and i will be the only progressive here that is for this legislation. yeah, so, i'm a small business owner, i have 7 employees,

myself. and i am also a mom, i have got two kids. but i don't think that it is about me, actually. i don't think that it is about any of the people here in the room. because all of the people here in the room have professed as i would as well that we offer flexible schedules and that is not an issue. i think that this is about employees who are afraid to ask for the time off. and particularly it is about single moms who make-up 20 to 25 percent of the workforce and have the least power in our society and the most responsibility. they have the guilt, and i felt this guilt as somebody who has a partner of either harming work, which pays for your child's food, or harming your child's immediate health. this is the choice that they have to make and there is a lot of guilt involved and there is a lot of nervousness and a lot of times people do not ask for that which they need.

and that is one major reason that i am for this legislation. and i also understand, i understand why it needs enforcement. in my experience, when you have legislation with no enforcement it has no teeth. and when it has no teeth, it does not happen and again, we are not talking about the people in this room who are all good employers, who all are offering up what they need to to their employees, we are talking about the ones who are not. so i do think that we need some kind of enforcement and perhaps we can look at other legislation and jurisdictions that it is not acceptable. i did want to add a few things on mr. eagon's excellent analysis. in my experience, temp workers never get six months in a job because they always get taken off to another job. so i am not sure that is going to work. i'm not concerned he mentions that one of the possible ill effects is that this will slow down the hiring of qualified workers, as a said i am a small

business owner myself and health insurance costs from employing a worker with a family are the biggest burden on employers, this is not a burden that is anywhere near that burden and so even in my own company, we think long and hard about hiring somebody who has a family. i just want to leave you with just a thought, what is a city without kids? we have 13.8 percent or something like that of our population 14.4 percent of the population is under 18. we want kids and it is great and it is great to have diversity in the city and i hope that you will consider, some form of this legislation, with enforcement thank you. >> kevin wallace, susan tucker, scott huggy? >> my name is sandra and i am born and raised in san

francisco and i hope that other people in the future may be able to say the same thing, i am the daughter of a butcher and a seamstress and they are both em grants and they are not like any of the people that are in this room. i grew up being told that i go to school and my parents worked hard to be here and they never wanted me to be sick, you know? to be helped so i can stay healthy, but also because they didn't think that they would be able to take care of me. or to pick me up from school or to any of those things that you need to do when circumstances come up with your child. my sisters and i grew up really

elthy, but every year, someone would come to school and be sick, i don't know why because sher parents told them not to be sick and they got sick and they were pushed to go to school. and infect the rest of us. >> and so, my parents, my mom was a seamstress and she could not take off the work to take care of us. but, eventually it came to a point where she had to take care of me and my sisters and my family over all in the house, so much more than work that she had to leave her job, she didn't have that flexibility. and so, for a couple of years, my mom had to leave work and become a homemaker and we were left as a single salary home. so, i