Overriding a veto by Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the New York City Council has passed a new paid sick leave requirement for businesses with more than 15 employees.
More than 1 million New York City workers are expected to gain access to paid sick leave under the law, joining workers in Portland, Ore., Seattle, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. The state of Connecticut also requires paid sick days.
Under the New York City measure, which is set to take effect in 2014, employees will earn five paid sick days each year. Initially, the law will apply to companies with 20 or more employees, and after a year and a half, it will apply to businesses with 15 or more workers. Smaller businesses will be required to offer employees five unpaid sick days.
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"In a time when so many are living paycheck to paycheck, the thought of losing a day's pay, or the threat of being fired, was enough to make them go to work regardless of whether or not they were well enough to be there," Vincent Alvarez, president of the New York City Central Labor Council, said in a statement. "This legislation will help the sales associate who can now take a sick day, instead of helping customers while battling a long-term illness. This legislation will help the barista fighting the flu to stay home and recuperate, instead of showing up to work sick, for fear of losing wages."
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, about one-third of all workers do not have access to paid sick days. Employers and other paid-sick live opponents say these measures ultimately harm workers, and small and medium-sized companies are more likely to be affected by increased labor costs and administrative time necessary to cover sick days.
The AFL-CIO offered up different views on its Web site and shared recent studies that support paid sick leave, citing a recent audit of the paid sick leave law in Washington, D.C., that found no negative impact on businesses, while a study of San Francisco found little negative impact and strong support among businesses, while another of Connecticut found a small cost with big potential upsides. San Francisco's law was actually found to have spurred job growth.
Conversely, bills have been passed in in Kansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana and Arizona banning sick-leave laws at the local level. Two more states – Florida and Michigan – are on the brink of adopting such bans.
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