Summary
On February 12, 2015, Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter signed a bill requiring employers with ten (10) or more employees in Philadelphia to begin providing employees with paid sick leave later this year. The Promoting Healthy Families and Workplaces Act, which takes effect in May, provides that employees of covered employers are entitled to accrue paid sick time at the rate of one (1) hour for every forty (40) hours the employee works in Philadelphia, to a maximum of forty (40) hours per year, unless the employer selects a higher limit. Employers may be subject to the law’s requirements even if they do not have an office, plant or other facility within city limits, so long as they employ at least ten (10) employees who perform at least forty (40) hours of work per year in Philadelphia.
Accrual and Use Requirements
After ninety (90) days of employment, employees may use paid sick time as they accrue it. Accrued, unused paid sick time may be carried over from year to year; however, employees may not "cash out" accrued, unused sick time upon termination of employment.
Beginning in May, covered employers must permit employees to use their accrued sick time in the following circumstances:
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Employee’s own mental or physical illness, injury or health condition;
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Employee’s need for medical diagnosis, care or treatment of a mental or physical illness, injury or health condition, or need for preventive care;
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Care of a family member with a mental or physical illness, injury or health condition, or care of a family member who needs medical diagnosis, care or treatment of a mental or physical illness, injury or health condition, or need for preventive care;
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Absence necessary due to domestic abuse, sexual assault or stalking, provided the leave is to allow the employee to obtain care or other types of assistance for the employee or a family member.
Accrued sick time may be used in hourly increments or the smallest increment that the employer’s payroll system uses to account for absences or use of other time.
Notice, Documentation and Recordkeeping Requirements
Regarding notification to the employer, the law provides that when the need for sick time is known to the employee in advance, the employee shall provide notice to the employer and make reasonable efforts to schedule the use of sick time in a manner that does not unduly disrupt the operations of the employer. Otherwise, the law merely requires employees to notify the employer "as soon as practicable" as the need for sick leave arises. For sick time of three (3) days or more, an employer may require "reasonable documentation" that the sick time is for a purpose prescribed by the law; such documentation might include a note from a physician indicating the need for sick leave. The law also requires employers to maintain written records regarding employees’ hours worked, sick time taken and payments made for sick time.
Remedial and Enforcement Provisions/Exceptions to Coverage
Employers are specifically prohibited from interfering with employees’ exercise of rights provided under the new law. In this regard, sick time taken under the law may not be counted as an absence that may lead to discipline or discharge, regardless of the employer’s absence control policy. Moreover, employers may not retaliate or discriminate against employees based upon their exercise of rights protected by the law. Strikingly, the law creates a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation whenever an employer discharges, suspends, demotes or takes other adverse action against an employee who had reported an alleged violation of the law to the City or "any person" in the ninety (90) days preceding the adverse employment action.
Employers with paid leave policies which meet or exceed the requirements of the new law are not required to provide additional paid sick time.
The law provides for enforcement by a City agency to be determined by the Mayor, as well as a private right of action for aggrieved employees. Depending upon the circumstances, remedies may include backpay, reinstatement, injunctive relief, liquidated damages and attorneys’ fees.
Lastly, the benefits of the law do not extend to employees covered by a collective bargaining agreement, independent contractors, seasonal workers, adjunct professors, employees hired for a term of less than six (6) months, interns or "pool employees."
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