The recent news of the Heinemann’s restaurant chain closing in the Milwaukee area might not seem all that troubling to some.  But for those of us who grew up in Milwaukee, it most certainly is sad news.  At its height, Heinemann’s had 11 locations throughout SE Wisconsin.  I still remember meeting my Grandma at the Heinemann’s in Brookfield.  It was one of her favorite spots.

Restaurant chains, especially local ones, often simply cannot remain competitive with national chains that offer faster service along with more variety in better, more exciting settings.  If that were simply the case with respect to Heinemann’s then my commentary would be limited to brief sadness at the passing of a local establishment.

However, more is at play here, and conservative young professionals need to take note.  While there were obviously many other elements at work, including the economic downturn, the proverbial “nail in the coffin” seemed to be the recent Milwaukee ordinance passed in the fall election which requires employers within the city limits to provide paid sick leave to employees.

Obviously it would be great if all employers could provide paid sick leave.  There is no argument that such a benefit is not a bonus for any employee.  However, to force employers to offer such a benefit in tough economic times invariably forces employers into an undesirable position. 

The city of Milwaukee residents spoke.  However, I’m curious what the roughly 125 Heinemann’s employees would say if one were to ask them today whether they would rather have their job or the realization that if they had a job in Milwaukee they would have the benefit of paid sick days.  The question is not meant to be an insult to one’s intelligence, because the obvious answer should be that employees at the end of the day value their employer.  When government forces employers to offer benefits employers are not able to provide, tough decisions are made and too often the employees are the ones who suffer the most. 

The JS mentions the issue in passing: “[The] Milwaukee ordinance that requires city employers to provide sick days to their workers would have made it difficult for her (the owner) to continue in business.”  Unfortunately this brief note does not adequately address the fact that while the ordinance might not be affecting large employers in the city of Milwaukee, many other medium to small sized businesses might be facing tough decisions.  Let’s only hope that the Milwaukee ordinance does not serve as another “nail in the coffin” as the economy continues to stumble along.