Today, City Council Members voted to expand the Sick Time Bill, granting about 355,000 more workers paid days off when they are ill. A less expansive bill passed last year requiring paid time off for businesses with 20 or more employees; the expanded bill requires it for businesses with 5 or more employees.
The expanded bill was proposed by Mayor de Blasio last month, who argued then that it was "not acceptable that so many New Yorkers are living on the edge economically when there is something we can do to ease their burden." In addition to lowering the employee minimum for businesses, the new bill allows employees to take "family" sick leave for grandparents and grandchildren, and includes a two-year statute of limitations to file a complaint along with a three year record keeping requirement. Small businesses will have a six-week grace period to comply with the law.
In a statement this afternoon, De Blasio praised City Council and Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito for passing the bill:
Under this law, thousands of hardworking New Yorkers will no longer have to choose between taking a sick day or earning a paycheck - and thousands of parents will no longer be forced to pick between caring for a sick child and earning enough to provide for them. From waitresses and dish washers to store clerks and car wash workers, New Yorkers across the five boroughs will finally have legal protection to a basic right that so many of us take for granted each day - and employers will benefit from a stronger and healthier workforce.
Mayor Bloomberg had previously vetoed the paid sick leave bill—which had been brought to the table by now-Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer—arguing it would hurt small businesses. That veto was overturned last June. The expanded bill will be the first de Blasio signs into law as mayor.
