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August 16, 2018
Howdy Neighbors,
This
Thursday August 16, City Council voted 9 to 2 to pass an Earned Paid
Sick Leave ordinance. The proposal was submitted by petition in May
2018. The ordinance will apply to all private/non-profit employers
who employ anyone performing at least 80 hours of work within the
City of San Antonio in a year, this includes businesses outside of
the city doing work within San Antonio. Sick leave would be accrued
at a rate of 1 hour per 30 hours worked. The ordinance proposes an
effective date of August 1, 2019 for employers with more than 5
employees and August 1, 2021 for employers with no more than 5
employees at any time in the preceding 12 months. You can view the
ordinance here.
I voted against this ordinance. I released the
following statement in response to today's vote:
"I disagree with Council passing this
ordinance today. There are too many unknowns at this time - there is no data available on what the impact
to San Antonio will be. I completely empathize with employees who need time
off from work to handle personal matters. I understand how difficult
it can be to manage the myriad of life's issues as a working parent
or caretaker. However, it is not our responsibility as a Council to
dictate how private companies should handle their day-to-day business
practices. This type of government interference adds another reason
for businesses to look away from San Antonio when thinking about
expansion or relocation.
We were warned against adopting this ordinance in
a letter from the office of Texas Attorney General, Ken Paxton. This
letter explains that the proposed ordinance would increase wages for
the workweek beyond those permitted by the Texas Minimum Wage Act.
According to this letter, Texas State law preempts a municipal paid
sick leave ordinance. By passing this ordinance now, we could be
asking for a frivolous lawsuit against San Antonio that will cost our
taxpayer's money.
Employers in San Antonio are entitled to make
this decision for themselves. San Antonio is growing because we have
had a functioning formula that has supported business development and
employees. City Council must listen to the business community on
these issues that ultimately affect their operations. We must work
with businesses to come to the best conclusion for what will help
their employees succeed. Without strong businesses, there
will not be economic success, which impacts the quality of life
in our great city."
As always, thank you for being active community
members and leaders here in District 10, and do not hesitate to
contact our office if we can be of any assistance to you.
- Clayton
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