For those of you who have been tracking the legislation around the paid sick and safe days bill at the DC Council, I wanted to provide an update of what happened Tuesday during the Council’s vote.
The Council voted unanimously to pass the Accrued Sick and Safe Leave Act, and the Mayor has announced that he plans to sign the bill. This puts D.C. as the second place in the country (San Francisco was first) to have a law requiring employers to provide paid sick days to their workers.
It also makes D.C. the first place in the nation to require paid safe days, which victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking can use to address their situations.
It is also important to note that before passing the bill, some Council members voted in support of a number of amendments that dramatically affect the bill’s impact and reach.
First, the Council voted to replace the bill’s definition of employee with the Family and Medical Leave Act definition of employee. In practical terms, this means that all workers will have to be on the job for at least 12 months, and have to have worked at least 1,000 hours (an average of 19 hours/week) before they are eligible for leave.
This is a major change from the previous version, where workers had to be on the job 90 days before being able to use leave. We were disappointed that some of our core supporters, who said they would not support amendments that go to the core of the legislation, voted in favor of this amendment.
Two other amendments exempted health care workers who participate in premium pay programs and wait staff. One of the main purposes of the bill was to address public health issues, so exempting these groups of workers is particularly troubling.
In addition, the Council adopted a hardship provision, which allows businesses to apply for exemption if they can prove hardship. The language in this amendment was quite vague, potentially leading to a large loophole. The Council also inserted a provision requiring an economic impact study and another that caps at $1000 the penalty for employers who willfully violate the posting requirement.
Two very problematic amendments were defeated.
The first would have changed the categories so that workers in businesses with up to 100 employees would earn only three days per year, and workers in larger businesses just five days.
The second would have exempted employees in businesses with 15 or fewer employees. Both of those were withdrawn when it became clear they lacked enough support to pass, so the final version has the following categories: three days for businesses with 1-24 employees; five days for businesses with 25-99 employees, and seven days for all others.
This is an important first step for the District and for workers, but the DC Employment Justice Center looks forward to a time when the city provides essential paid sick and safe time for all its workers.
Karen Minatelli is the deputy director of DC Employment Justice Center, a Grantee Partner of The Women’s Foundation.
Read more about how this bill impacts women here.
