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The first online-only news site in state history to get media credentials to cover the state capitol and Seattle city hall, PubliCola has been called a “must-read” by the Seattle Post Intelligencer and a hot “New Media Mover and Shaker” by Seattle Magazine—which also cited our own Erica C. Barnett as the city's No. 1 news nerd.

Council Committee Passes Paid Sick Leave Ordinance; More Changes to Come

City Hall   August 10, 2011 at 3:59 pm Erica C. Barnett

The city council’s housing and human services committee passed a compromise version of an ordinance mandating that Seattle employers provide paid sick leave. However, the committee agreed to hold the ordinance in full council until September 12 to resolve several council members’ outstanding issues with the proposal, including the fact that it requires larger employers to provide more sick leave more quickly; the fact that restaurant and other workers who swap shifts in lieu of taking paid time off forfeit that sick leave; and the fact that employees at large companies can’t swap shifts, among other concerns.

The ordinance adopted today already includes numerous concessions to employers. In addition to allowing shift swaps in lieu of sick leave (something the restaurant and bar industry pushed for), it exempts very small businesses (those with fewer than five employees, excluding about 33,000 workers in Seattle); excludes work study employees from sick leave requirements; requires employees to work at least 120 hours a year inside Seattle to be eligible for sick leave; ensures that all employees must wait six months before they can take paid sick leave (previously, employees at large companies only had to wait 90 days); reduces the amount large employers must pay toward employees’ health care costs if they require them to provide a doctor’s note saying they’re actually sick; and several other minor changes.

Richard Conlin, who said he still had “some issues of concern I feel are outstanding,” zeroed in on the fact that restaurant workers who trade shifts lose their right to sick leave in proportion to those shifts, calling it “kind of a cynical attitude toward the employee.” The council adopted that policy as part of the compromise at the behest of restaurant owners who argued employees would pretend to be sick during a less desirable shift—say, a Wednesday night—in order to trade for a more desirable shift, like a weekend night.

“We probably haven’t moved as far as some people would like, but on the other hand, we probably have moved too far for some other people,” legislation sponsor Nick Licata said.

The bill would require employers to provide as many as nine paid sick days per year, depending on the size of the employer and the number of hours an employee worked during a year.

According to a national 2010 poll, most Americans support requiring employers to provide paid sick leave.


  • Jakers

    It would be interesting to see how many Americans or Seattleites even knew that there were people who worked and didn’t get sick leave.

    My bet is that most people just assume that every employer already offered it unless they were one of the few unlucky and taken-advantage-of people not to have paid sick leave.

  • Shaggy

    So the council voted to take away a benefit from people who work at large companies (it now takes 180 days v 90 days to take paid sick leave).  Thanks for nothing.

  • http://www.facebook.com/alexjon Alex-jon Earl

    If you want the support of the business community, there are rules and orders you have to follow.

  • LHW

    There would be no benefits taken away.  Large companies that offer sick leave after 30, 60 or 90 days are still able to do just that, the only change is that they are mandated by law to offer after 180.  Since they offered without any mandates before, they likely would continue offering even with mandates in place in the future.