The Dallas City Council recently passed an ordinance stating that Dallas employers would have to provide employees with paid sick leave; while state legislators debated prohibiting such ordinances statewide.
San Antonio and Austin already have similar ordinances mandating sick leave with pay. Austin’s ordinance is on hold due to it being declared unconstitutional by an appeals court. The mandate in Dallas passed by 10-4 vote.
The new ordinance mandates that for each 30 hour of work, employees are to accumulate one hour of paid sick leave. Paid sick leave would cap at 64 hours per year for employers with more than 15 workers. Those business that have under 15 employees would top out at 48 hours or six days of paid sick leave.
Pro ordinance advocates point out that guaranteeing sick leave benefits workers, as well as the public’s health. The business community’s position is that the city’s job does not include dictating the employment policies of private companies.
Often in situations such as this one, a politically neutral group will choose brochure printing as a means of informing the public of the pros and cons of each side of the issue.
The Texas Senate has approved a measure preventing mandates such as the one Dallas has recently passed. Members of the Texas House may choose to take into account a University of Texas-Texas Tribune poll showing that 71% of the state’s voters approve of mandating paid sick leave.
