A Better Balance Joins New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio As He Announces Legislation to Extend Paid Sick Time to Hundreds of Thousands of Additional Workers in New York City
For nearly five years, A Better Balance has been working to make paid sick time a reality for all working families in New York City. We were thrilled to help broker the agreement last year that finally led to passage of the NYC Earned Sick Time Act. This major legislation will go into effect on April 1, 2014, and extend paid sick time to 1 million workers in NYC who currently receive no paid time off when they or their loved ones are ill. When the compromise was reached, A Better Balance Co-President Sherry Leiwant was quoted in the New York Times noting that the bill, despite its critical benefits and important precedent, was not perfect; some manufacturing workers were excluded, and many employees of small businesses would only receive unpaid sick time under the law. We have not given up hope of strengthening this legislation to protect an even greater number of New Yorkers.
Today marks a huge milestone in our efforts to expand paid sick time in New York City! This afternoon, we stood with NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio and Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito outside Esmeralda’s Restaurant in Bushwick, Brooklyn as the Mayor announced legislation to strengthen the Earned Sick Time Act. Mayor de Blasio is sending the City Council a bill that would lower the business size threshold for paid sick time to reach more New Yorkers and cover manufacturing workers on the same basis as other workers; under the Mayor’s proposal, workers employed by businesses with 5 or more employees will be able to earn up to 5 days of paid sick time, while workers in smaller businesses will receive up to 5 days of unpaid sick time to care for themselves or an ill loved one. This legislation will extend paid sick time to hundreds of thousands of workers in NYC who would not otherwise receive paid sick time when the Earned Sick Time Act goes into effect on April 1, 2014! The Mayor’s bill will also increase the time in which workers can file complaints, expand the definition of “family” in the law to cover grandparents, grandchildren, and siblings, and empower the city to proactively enforce the Earned Sick Time Act by initiating its own investigations.
At his press conference today, Mayor de Blasio thanked the “A Better Balance and Paid Sick Days Coalition” for its leadership on this issue! We have been providing assistance to the Mayor’s office on this legislation, and we look forward to working in coming weeks with the Mayor and City Council members. As the City Council considers the Mayor’s legislation and weighs other potential changes to the Earned Sick Time Act, we will do everything we can to ensure passage of the strongest law possible. We are also continuing to work with city officials on the development of administrative rules and regulations that will facilitate the law’s implementation in April.
Passage of this expanded paid sick time law is only the beginning. With your continued support, A Better Balance is engaging in outreach throughout NYC to inform workers about their sick time rights. As the effective date of this law (April 1, 2014) draws closer, we must ensure that workers are aware of their rights, businesses understand their legal obligations, and violations are effectively enforced. If you would like to learn more about our outreach efforts or get involved, please don’t hesitate to contact us at 212-430-5982.
P.S. To learn more about our work visit our webpage. Check out our blog on work/family legal issues, like A Better Balance on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter!
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