NEW YORK Restaurateurs in New York City could be joining their counterparts in San Francisco and Washington, D.C., if the City Council here passes newly crafted legislation mandating paid sick leave for employees.
The council introduced local legislation requiring businesses with more than 10 workers to offer them the opportunity to earn up to nine days of paid sick leave each year. Smaller businesses with fewer than 10 employees would be required to offer five paid sick days.
Employers would provide a minimum of one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked by an employee beginning 90 days after the employeeÕs starting date. Employees would have the right to use the time for themselves or to take care of a sick relative. The law would extend to full-time, part-time and temporary workers.
Restaurateurs and association officials have said the added burden of providing paid sick leave would place undue financial hardships on their businesses. "I don't know how in this economy an industry such as ours can afford something like this," said Rick Sampson, president and chief executive of the New York State Restaurant Association.
However, proponents of the New York bill say: ÒProviding minimal paid sick time is affordable for employers and good for business. Employers who provide paid sick time have greater employee retention and reduce the problem of workers coming to work sick.Ó
The New York City chapters of the NYSRA plan to oppose the measure through a coalition new being formed headed by the chambers of commerce of the five boroughs and other trade associations, said the group's legislative counsel Robert Bookman.
"We don't believe the city has the authority to pass such legislation," Bookman said. "For one thing, the city has no enforcement mechanism. There is no city department of labor. Who is going to oversee this?"
The New York bill is cosponsored by 36 out of 51 council members.
The National Restaurant Association has identified paid sick leave as a hot button issue for the restaurant industry. Legislation so far has been enacted in San Francisco in 2007 and in Washington, D.C. in 2008.
Milwaukee voters passed a referendum mandating paid sick leave, but a coalition of business groups including the Wisconsin Restaurant Association launched a challenge, saying that it would be difficult for businesses to comply with the regulations. As a result, the Milwaukee Country Circuit Court issued a permanent injunction prohibiting the implementation and enforcement of the ordinance.
Similar legislation has been introduced in at least 15 states, including Connecticut, New Jersey, Maine and Ohio. No states have passed legislation yet. At the federal level, a companion bill titled the Healthy Families Act was introduced earlier this year by Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., in the House and by the late Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., in the Senate.
Contact Paul Frumkin at [email protected]
