The choice between a paycheck or calling in sick, an analysis of supply chain disruptions, and a review of Connecticut’s film tax credit programs are among the top business news items this morning.
Business trends
As the Omicron variant of driving a major increase in COVID-19 cases, a potential risk for workplace infections is workers without paid sick leave who feel they must come into work or risk losing pay. Some employers have been scaling back more generous sick leave policies put in place at the start of the pandemic, and lower-wage workers are less likely to have sick leave benefits.
The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis has released an analysis of supply chain disruptions in the past two years, finding that international shipping costs have experienced a greater swing during the pandemic than they did during the Great Recession. The analysis attributes slightly more than half of the increase to supply and demand trends, with the remainder due to disruptions in shipping operations.
Connecticut
Connecticut is reviewing its tax credit programs for the film industry after the Department of Economic and Community Development determined in 2019 that the revenue losses from the credits outweighed the economic benefits they created. A report on this issue from an outside consultancy is expected later this month.