Paid Sick Time for New York City
Approximately 1.5 million working New Yorkers do not have any paid sick time. For these New Yorkers, taking time off from work to recover or get needed medical care means loss of pay, retaliation like the loss of a good shift, or even being fired. Government statistics show large inequities by income; in the New York metropolitan region, 84% of workers in the top wage quartile earn paid sick time, but only 37% of workers in the bottom wage quartile do.
The New York City Paid Sick Time Act would ensure a modest minimum floor of paid sick time for workers in the city, much like the minimum wage does for pay. San Francisco, Washington, D.C., Milwaukee, Connecticut and Seattle have passed paid sick time legislation.
Update on What's Happening with New York City's Paid Sick Time Bill
Despite widespread public support and a veto-proof majority of 35 City Council Members signed on as co-sponsors, New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn announced in October 2010 that she would not allow a vote on the Paid Sick Time Act. Speaker Quinn has promised to review her decision on paid sick time every two months. Advocates have redoubled efforts to pass the Paid Sick Time Act in 2012, and urge Speaker Quinn to bring the bill to a vote.
On Wednesday, January 18, 2012, A Better Balance and the New York City Paid Sick Days Coalition held a rally at City Hall to relaunch the paid sick time campaign. Click here for a video of the event, featuring remarks by A Better Balance's Co-President, Sherry Leiwant. To read a press release regarding the rally, click here.
On Thursday, February 16, 2012, the New York City Paid Sick Days Coalition held a press conference outside Bellevue Hospital. At the event, healthcare providers and policy experts highlighted a new study by IWPR showing that the NYC Paid Sick Time Act would provide millions of dollars in annual emergency room savings for NYC hospitals.
The New York City Paid Sick Days Coalition is larger, stronger, and more determined than ever to pass the NYC Paid Sick Time Act in 2012. We have big plans for the next few months, so stay tuned for updates on upcoming events!
The 2011-2012 Fight for Paid Sick Time
The campaign for paid sick time remained active in 2011, and set the foundation for our relaunch on January 18, 2012. Our 2011 activities included:
January: Religious leaders throughout New York City called for passage of paid sick days legislation during their 2011 Martin Luther King, Jr. Day events and services. When speaking out for economic and social justice, these members of the clergy asserted that working New Yorkers have the right to earn paid sick time. According to government statistics for the New York metropolitan area, 84% of workers in the top wage quartile get paid sick time, while only 37% of those in the bottom quartile do. Click here to read the letter mailed to New York City religious leaders.
February: After New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn put the Paid Sick Time Act on hold, she promised to review her position every two months. We used Valentine's Day 2011 as an opportunity to hold Speaker Quinn to her word. Joined by our coalition partners, we delivered heart-shaped chocolate lollipops to Speaker Quinn and members of the City Council with the message "Have a Heart - Pass Paid Sick Days!" For photos from the event, visit A Better Balance's facebook page.
March: On March 14, 2011, A Better Balance, the New York State Paid Leave Coalition, and Human Rights Watch hosted a parent "speak out" in Park Slope, Brooklyn. Dozens of New York parents called for paid sick time, paid family leave insurance, and other policies and laws to help working families. The evening's discussion was moderated by Ann Crittenden, author of The Price of Motherhood. Eleven organizations co-sponsored the event, which was attended by New York City Council Members Brewer, James, Lander, and Levin. To view a short video from the event, click here.
June-July: Volunteers from the New York City paid sick time campaign discussed the need for paid sick time at LGBT Pride events in Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens, and Manhattan. Hundreds of LGBT New Yorkers signed postcards urging Speaker Quinn and the City Council to bring the New York City Paid Sick Time Act to a vote. To learn more about why paid sick time is important to LGBT New Yorkers, click here.
September: A Better Balance distributed a new back-to-school fact sheet that shows why parents and children benefit from paid sick time laws. In NYC, 54% of all public school parents—and close to two-thirds of all low-income public school parents—lack paid sick time. Too many parents have no choice but to send their sick children to school, which results in the unnecessary spread of germs to staff and other students. We also used the September release of the blockbuster film Contagion to draw attention to a real risk of contagion: 44 million American workers lack paid sick time. Click here to watch a video featuring five individuals—including a New Yorker—who have been forced to go to work ill because they couldn’t afford to or weren’t allowed to take time off.
October: On Sunday, October 16, A Better Balance, the New York Paid Leave Coalition, and more than 100 New Yorkers and their children gathered for a paid sick time event that was fun for all ages! A Better Balance hosted “Brooklyn Families Rock for Paid Sick Time,” a community event in Kensington, Brooklyn that featured free entertainment for children and a performance by Slavic Soul Party, a popular Brooklyn band. Along with a group of Brooklyn parents, we spoke out on the need for paid sick time and called for a vote on the New York City Paid Sick Time Act. Click here to see pictures and a video from the event, and click here to read a petition organized by parents. Additionally, click here for the event flyer.
The New York City Paid Sick Time Act and How it Would Work
- Frequently Asked Questions about Paid Sick Time in NYC
- Text of the New York City Paid Sick Time Act
- One-Page Overview of the New York City Paid Sick Time Campaign
- Bill Summary with Changes from 2009 to 2010 Bill
Media Coverage
Widespread Support From Workers, Businesses, Nonprofits, Public Health Experts, Community Boards and Elected Officials
- New Yorkers for Paid Sick Days
- Op-Ed and Editorial Support
- Polling Data
Research Evidence Regarding the Need For and the Cost of Paid Sick Time Legislation
To learn more about the need for paid sick time in New York City, please see Sick in the City: What the Lack of Paid Leave Means for Working New Yorkers (A Better Balance and CSS-NY, October 2009). A January 2012 update to "Sick in the City" is available here.
Additional research:
- Paid Sick Days in New York City Would Lower Health Care Costs by Reducing Unnecessary Emergency Department Visits (IWPR, Feb. 2012)
- Valuing Good Health in New York City: The Costs and Benefits of Paid Sick Days (IWPR, Oct. 2009) Executive Summary
- Letter from IWPR Rebutting Five Borough Chamber Alliance's estimate of cost of Paid Sick Time Bill (Nov. 2009)
- No More Delay: Proven Policy Solutions for New York City (John Petro, Drum Major Institute, July 2009)
- Behind the Kitchen Door: Pervasive Inequality in New York City's Thriving Restaurant Industry (ROC NY, 2005)
San Francisco's Paid Sick Time Law Has Been a Success
Testimony by Donna Levitt, Head of San Francisco Office of Labor Standards:
"The implementation of our law has been quite smooth and businesses have not reported compliance with the law to be a major problem. Employees did not use all of the days of paid sick leave that were available and there were very few reports of abuse of paid sick leave."
"In fact, the head of the Chamber of Commerce and the Golden Gate Restaurant Association were both quoted in the press as saying that paid sick leave did not present undue hardships that could not be managed by their members and did represent good public policy."
"A study was done of the first year of our ordinance and found that no businesses had either closed or laid off workers specifically citing the cause as the San Francisco paid sick leave ordinance."
For More Information or To Get Involved
- TAKE ACTION for Paid Sick Time in New York City!
- A Better Balance's Paid Sick Time Tools and Resources
- A Better Balance's Paid Sick Time Documents Library
- For more information or to get involved in the paid sick time campaign in New York City, please contact A Better Balance at 212-430-5982 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
