By Jill Colvin
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
CITY HALL — Mayor Michael Bloomberg blasted a proposal to make paid sick days mandatory for private businesses, saying it amounts to a government takeover.
"It would be a disaster if the government tried to get in to run small businesses," Bloomberg said when asked about the idea at a press conference Thursday.
The City Council is currently investigating whether small business owners should be required to give their employees paid days off.
Under the current version of the bill, businesses would be forced to provide nine paid days off a year, though discussions are under way to reduce that number to five, the New York Post reported.
But Bloomberg said the rules would be a slippery slope.
"If they [the government] run the bars and restaurants, they'll try to run everything else," he said. "This is going down a path which is a terrible, terrible idea and would be disastrous proposal for New York City."
He also warned the requirement would compromise new jobs.
"If you want to lose those jobs and lots of others, you start letting the government run small businesses. And if they run business, they'll run the other ones," he said.
"Plain and simple, government shouldn't be running small business," he added.
Businesses have complained the bill would cost them up to $789 million a year.
