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New Law Guarantees Paid Sick Leave For Some 200,000 New Yorkers
By
Rebecca Fishbein
Published Mar 20, 2014
Modified Mar 20, 2014
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By
Rebecca Fishbein
Published Mar 20, 2014
Modified Mar 20, 2014
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Mayor de Blasio signed the expanded Paid Sick Leave bill into law today, paving the way for thousands of New Yorkers who once had to choose between losing a paycheck and being ill at work to receive sick pay.
The bill, which is the first de Blasio has signed into law, requires businesses with 5 or more employees to grant those employees five days of paid sick leave; a previous bill voted on by City Council during Bloomberg's mayoral reign only required businesses with 20 or more employees to offer paid sick time. De Blasio proposed an expansion of the bill in January and it was approved by City Council last month.
"In a perfect world, these are the kind of things our federal government would’ve taken on a long time ago," de Blasio said at the signing, which took place at Steve's Craft Ice Cream in Boerum Hill. "This is the sort of thing that should be a given in our society-an ever more complex society, people working longer and longer hours, all sorts of family configurations. You would’ve thought a long time ago the federal government would’ve said, hey, people need paid sick leave, they need that basic security, we’ll step in and take care of it on a national level."
In addition to minimizing the number of employees required per business, the expanded bill eliminated the phase-in period that would have delayed coverage for some workers, removed exemptions for the manufacturing sector and added grandparents, grandchildren and siblings to the family members permitted to take family time. The administration estimates that the expanded bill will offer coverage to 200,000 New Yorkers who do not currently have paid sick time. The law goes into effect on April 1.
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paid sick bill
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sick time
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Rebecca Fishbein
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