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Paid sick leave legislation passes out of Council committee following fierce debate
Legislation that would bring Philly in line with progressive West Coast cities like Seattle and San Francisco when it comes to requiring employers to offer paid sick leave for their workers came before a City Council committee today. The hearing of City Council's Public Health and Human Services Committee began this morning — and ran through much of the afternoon. The committee approved the bill with amendments, so it will go back to Council for final passage.
Paid sick leave legislation passes out of Council committee following fierce debate
Legi
slation that would bring Philly in line with progressive West Coast cities like Seattle and San Francisco when it comes to requiring employers to offer paid sick leave for their workers came before a City Council committee today. The hearing of City Council's Public Health and Human Services Committee began this morning — and ran through much of the afternoon. The committee approved the bill with amendments, so it will go back to Council for final passage.
City Council members heard from a wary administration and a critical business community about the damage such legislation would do to the the region's economy — and from numerous workers, employers and advocates who call paid sick leave both a public health issue and a basic workers' right.
City Councilman Bill Greenlee, who sponsored the bill, came out swinging at the start of the hearing. He was angry that the administration had not dispatched Health Commissioner Donald Schwarz to address the committee. Fairness, Greenlee said, is a favorite word of the administration: "It's unfair in my opinion for over 180,000 workers in Philadelphia who can't just take a few days off for their health and the health of their family members. It's unfair, I must say, for an administration who talks a lot about health in other settings … to not have its health commissioner come to these hearings."
Present instead was Commerce Department head and Deputy Mayor Alan Greenberger, who expressed worries that the legislation would "create significant disadvantages for Philadelphia businesses." Those same concerns helped torpedo a similar bill that came up two years ago. Greenberger said the impact would be on Philly's ability to "compete in the global marketplace" and even to compete with nearby suburbs. He added, "Many comparisons have been made to other cities that have done this that typically have very different economic health than we do."
Workers like childcare provider Karen Barnes testified that paid sick leave can often mean the difference between buying groceries or not on a week when they're not well. Barnes says a recent illness sent her home for work without pay for two weeks. "I'm a single parent with a special needs chid. I'm still trying to figure out how to pay bills that are still due," she said. "Owners: You can do it."
Numerous business owners and business advocates said they just can't do it, though. Some said their margins are so razor-thin they can't afford to cover the additional expense. Others, particularly restaurant owners, said they would end up paying for workers to sleep off their "hangovers."
That was too much for Council President Darrell Clarke (pictured above), who normally tries not to interject his opinion in Council proceedings. "It implies that because an individual works in a lower-paying job" they're more likely to abuse the privilege of sick leave, he said. "Why would somebody abuse sick time any more than you do?"
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