Reference no: EM132819232

Short reading:  

You are the manager of a small flower shop in Eagan, MN. The company has 5 employees, including 3 florists who fulfill orders (including you), and 2 delivery drivers. The shop currently delivers to customers in a 50-mile radius from the Eagan store, including to the cities of Minneapolis, St. Paul, and Hudson, Wisconsin. The store currently only offers 40 hours of paid time off per year, and does not provide designated maternity leave, medical leave or other leaves specifically for caring for family members.

• Do you think it's fair that small employers are often not required to provide as many accommodations and benefits to employees, such as family medical leave, maternity/paternity leave, or paid sick leave? Why do you feel this way? Should laws be expanded to protect employees at all sizes of employers? to minimize the impact to their employers? Why/why not? What strategies can small businesses implement to overcome the three types of challenges mentioned in the Background section above? Do you have any other ideas or solutions for how society can balance the needs of employees and small businesses?