“Small businesses are the backbone of our economy, and we all rely on small businesses or independent service workers. Now, the state wants to punish these blue-collar workers for tardiness.
“There are bad apples out there, and people can already file a civil claim for damages against a bad business, but this latest move will unleash the Illinois Attorney General’s Office to go after service workers for running a few minutes late.
“My opposition comes as someone who has performed service work for more than 30 years based on fairness, efficiency, and dignity. We are talking about the plumber across the street, the electrician from church, the refrigerator and washing machine repairman – the handymen we all need from time to time – could now be sued for being late to an appointment.
“Service work is not one-size-fits-all when it comes to calculating the time. Over the phone, without seeing the situation, how long it might take to make sure you have hot water or fix a leaky roof is very hard to know.
“There are often complex, uncontrollable factors when on the job that could slow you down and make you a few a minutes late to the next appointment. You also can’t predict being stopped by a roadside emergency on the way. There is a multitude of things that can disrupt even the best-planned days.
“Enshrining a private right of action to go after service workers would turn every late incident into a potential legal dispute. This could create a chilling effect, where workers rush through tasks, compromising safety and quality, just to avoid liability.
“The intentions may be good, but once again, the state is taking an extreme approach to a minor issue that will hurt small businesses.”