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Thursday, May 26, 2011

Paid Sick Leave Legislation Takes Step Forward in Council

Amidst the hubbub over schools funding and DROP, it's easy to miss that another big issue bubbled up in Council today. Legislation to that would require Philadelphia employers to provide paid sick days has been moved back to the regular legislative calender, with a chance it could get final passage before Council breaks for the summer.

The legislation -- sponsored by Councilmen Darrell Clarke and Bill Greenlee -- will be amended. Greenlee said the amended version will exempt workplaces covered by union contracts. In addition, the number of sick days workers could earn will be limited. Workers at businesses with 10 or less workers could earn up to four sick days, while those at larger businesses to earn up to 7, Greenlee said.

Greenlee said he hoped the changes would ease the fears of many in the business community. He added that he thinks he has enough votes to pass the legislation. The soonest the bill could receive final passage and be sent to the mayor for approval would be June 9.

"Is it government's role to try to help?" Greenlee said. "The most noteworthy stuff government does is addressing unfairness."

The sick-leave legislation has prompted heated debate since it's introduction in March. Advocates say the bill would help provide a safety net for an estimated 210,000 Philadelphia workers who don't have paid sick days. But some businesses have raised concerns and the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce opposes the bill, saying it could hurt job creation in a tough economic time.

Mayor Nutter opposes the bill, saying it could be bad for business. A spokesman this week declined to comment on whether Nutter would veto the bill if it passes out of Council.

Posted by Catherine Lucey @ 11:06 AM Permalink | 17 comments

Comments

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 11:29 AM, 05/26/2011

The union-owned Democrats exempt the unions, just like the union-owned Obama is exempting union after union from his health care debacle.

— fafafooey

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 11:52 AM, 05/26/2011

And people wonder why businesses are leaving the city.........

— Wildman Bill

Comment removed.

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 12:17 PM, 05/26/2011

GrapeSodaSociety.....You are exactly right.

Give people 4-7 sick days a year and they will take every one of them. So if a business has 10 employes and each one takes 5 days off a year sick, thats about 2 months salary that the business now has to pay for and gets nothing in return.

Bad idea.

— dpg508

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 12:35 PM, 05/26/2011

Stop scaring off all employers.

— T

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 12:41 PM, 05/26/2011

Greenlee spent most of his adult life tying ex-councilman David Cohen's shoe laces. Like Cohen he's a neo-marxist, call me "progressive," do-gooder,i.e., so long as it's at someone else's expense. Geez, don't the changes really make the mandate more attractive? That should get the councilman's staff's juices stirring.

— lefty

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 12:43 PM, 05/26/2011

It pays to offer paid sick leave in the long run. Most service industry jobs don't offer benefits or are part-time. Who wants a person serving them food who is dealing with a nasty cold or the flu? BTW...they're also infecting their co-workers. Losing a day's worth of pay when sick is not a financial option for everyone.

— All That Flibbity Flab

Comment removed.

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 3:20 PM, 05/26/2011

Wow, way to chase even more jobs out of the city.

— CD75

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 3:37 PM, 05/26/2011

Democratic morons

— Mags37

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 3:47 PM, 05/26/2011

So good to see the Hate Americans First crowd out in force, tin foil hats firmly in place, preconceived prejudices and ideologically "pure" beliefs trumping real evidence. Who needs "evidence" when you have an ivory tower theory?

— H.L. Puttgrass

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 5:52 PM, 05/26/2011

"The legislation -- sponsored by Councilmen Darrell Clarke and Bill Greenlee -- will be amended. Greenlee said the amended version will exempt workplaces covered by union contracts. In addition, the number of sick days workers could earn will be limited. Workers at businesses with 10 or less workers could earn up to four sick days, while those at larger businesses to earn up to 7, Greenlee said."
The union PAC influence of these council members is so obvious, why do the union's get a pass, but their going to force this on the private sector???

— Dadair1

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 5:58 PM, 05/26/2011

After my waiter coughs the flu all over my food because he can't take a day off, I'll be sure to come into the office and infect the rest of you without remorse.

— foghelmut

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 5:59 PM, 05/26/2011

Wow, so now people being able to be sick is a sign of a communist agenda? Not every issue is conservative vs liberal. Some issues are common sense, and giving people some paid sick days who don't have them is just common sense.

— Hemingway

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 8:05 PM, 05/26/2011

Workers nationwide take an average of 3.4 sick days per year. Contrary to the cynics and believers that all workers are slackers who have commented here, sick leave usage is modest, even among those who earn plenty. Most people are conscientious workers.

Sick workers who come to work cost business more than the cost of providing minimal paid days, like this Bill requires. Workplaces and schools - which are also workplaces - are where many communicable illnesses are spread. More people get sick, health care costs go up, more absenteeism, turnover, lost business. This is a smart economic bill, a protector of public health, and the kind of family friendly public policy that every other industrialized country on earth takes for granted.

Unions are exempt because they typically negotiate much more generous leave benefits than this bill calls for, or because the nature of their work leads them to negotiate for alternate provisions. It's low wage workers, who cook and serve your hamburger, the health care aide taking care of your mother in an assisted living facility, or the retail clerk at the convenience store who will benefit from this legislation.

Just like the mayor's anti-smoking ordinance didn't drive business out of Philly, these modest changes won't either. Every regulation, change in the minimum wage or proposal for improved workers' rights is always met with the same predictions of cataclysm for business. It never happens.

— Katherine Black

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About The Philly Clout Team

Chris Brennan, a native Philadelphian and graduate of Temple University, joined the Daily News in 1999. He has written about SEPTA, the Philadelphia School District, the legalization of casino gambling, state government, the mayor, the governor, City Council and political campaigns.

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David Gambacorta spent a small eternity writing about cops, drug dealers and serial killers. Now he’s writing about power and politics – which sometimes reminds him of the old crime beat. He joined the Daily News in 2005. And yes, he knows you’re not quite sure how to pronounce his last name. E-mail tips to gambacd@phillynews.com

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Catherine Lucey joined the Daily News in 2002 and has written about murderous drug gangs, political protesters and Harry Potter. After covering the 2007 mayoral election, she moved over to the City Hall bureau where she has been reporting on the Nutter administration.

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Jan Ransom, a native New Yorker, joined the Daily News in 2010 after graduating from Howard University. She has since written about the difficulty of filing police complaints, tax deadbeats and life after violent home invasions. She joined the Daily News City Hall Bureau in 2011 and has plunged headfirst into reporting on administration budget battles and City Council shenanigans.

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