We hear it routinely. Oregon, we’re told, is a tough place to do business. Now some lawmakers aim to make it worse. It appears a measure to require all or most of the state’s private employers to give their workers paid sick leave will likely be introduced in the 2015 Legislature. A similar proposal died in the 2013 legislative session.

Let’s be clear: We encourage employers to offer paid sick leave, if they can afford it. But there are times when Oregon doesn’t need to be an innovator, and this is one of them. Currently only two states, California and Connecticut, and seven U.S. cities, including Portland and Eugene, require private employers to offer sick leave, and that’s innovation enough. For small employers, in particular, paid sick leave could be the added expense that make the cost of doing business, well, too costly.

Consider how small-business owners around the nation already view us. In a survey reported on in Governing magazine, Oregon earned a slew of D grades, a pair of Cs and only two Bs. The state got relatively good marks for its friendliness, licensing and the ease of starting a new business.

But it fell short on everything from the ease of hiring, overall regulations (it ranked 33 of 38 states reporting in that category), zoning, health and safety, and environmental laws. It earned a D+ on its tax code. Too, nearly 14 percent of Oregonians in the workforce are considered “under-employed” by the state — they hold part-time jobs when they’d rather work full time.

Meanwhile, although sectors of the state’s economy are improving, we still trail the nation where unemployment and per-capita earnings are concerned. The solutions — more and better-paying jobs — will come in no small part as new businesses move in, and as long as we’re seen as unfriendly in that regard, the pace of growth in that area will lag.

The Bulletin’s parent company offers paid sick leave, 10 days per year. But some business owners honestly believe paying people when they’re ill is simply too expensive. Neither we nor they should be required by law to do so.