Paid Leave For Small Biz Workers
The City Council voted 46-5 in favor to expand paid sick leave to employees in business with five or more employees Wednesday, Feb. 26, moving quickly to implement items of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s progressive agenda.
The council vote passed the most comprehensive paid sick leave laws in the country, expanding the act to cover 355,000 New Yorkers in businesses with five or more employees. Employees in these businesses now have the right to five paid sick days per year.
The expanded law will go into effect Apr. 1.
“It’s time for our laws to live up to our values,” Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito said in a statement. “No one should have to choose between their job and their health.”
The vote expands an older version passed by the council last year. The previous bill set the threshold for paid sick days to be available in businesses with 15 or more employees.
It is estimated that nearly 200,000 workers do not currently have access to paid sick days.
Workers showing up to work despite being sick is called “presenteeism.” This can cause a major drain on firms productivity and profitability by spreading disease, which leads to more workers missing hours, thus draining company resources.
The scenario is also often played out in schools, as many parents face a difficult choice without access to paid sick days. Under the previous system parents were forced to either miss work and pay to stay home to care for a child, send them to school sick, or show up to work despite feeling ill.
The bill also expands paid sick days to cover people caring for ailing grandparents, grandchildren and siblings.
Viverito feels the expansion will help better serve the needs of families throughout the city.
“No parent should have to choose between caring for a child and putting food on the table,” Viverito was quoted in a press release. “We need… this legislation… to ensure that no New Yorker falls into crisis and insecurity just because he or she or a family member becomes ill. It is simply the right thing to do.”
The vote was hailed as an early political victory for the mayor and council speaker, but has also been criticized by small-business groups and a few council members.
The de Blasio administration views this legislation as a keystone to implementing their progressive agenda. During the Mayoral campaign, de Blasio often stumped that income inequality was a major problem, and said many times that if elected, combatting its rising effects would be a top priority of his administration.
Some business associations were concerned with how quickly the bill was passed and will take effect, arguing that many small businesses will not have time to comply with the new regulations.
To address these fears the bill was amended to include a grace period, lasting six months after the law takes effect for business that were not previously covered by the act.
Two democrats, along with the three-person republican bloc, including Queens’ Eric Ulrich voted against the bill.
The bill includes a two-year statute of limitations to file a complaint, a three-year record keeping requirement and authorizes enforcement by a city agency selected by the mayor, possibly the Department of Consumer Affairs.
Two local business associations were contacted for statements and had no official comment.
