Employment, Benefits & Labor

Action Item: On February 12, 2015, Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter signed into law a paid sick leave bill for the City of Philadelphia. Affected employers should review the law closely because it includes specific requirements that must be implemented by May 2015.

Philadelphia is the seventeenth city in the country to require employers to provide paid sick leave to their employees. The law, which will take effect in May 2015, generally requires all employers in Philadelphia with 10 or more employees to provide a minimum of one hour of paid sick leave for every 40 hours worked, up to 40 hours of paid sick leave per year. However, the law contains a number of potential ambiguities. For example, it is not yet clear whether the law applies only to employers with 10 or more employees in Philadelphia, or whether the law covers all employers with 10 or more employees who have at least one employee in the city. Similarly, the law does not offer guidance on how employers should treat employees whose work requires them to be in both Philadelphia and other locations.

As part of its implementation, the law contains specific notice requirements for employers. Employers can comply with these requirements by supplying employees with written notice or posting the requirements, and the law provides instructions on the languages in which the information must be given. The law specifically states that all employee handbooks distributed to employees must be updated with information pertaining to this paid sick leave requirement. 

Blank Rome Partner Scott Cooper shared his insights on the impact of this bill withLaw360 in an article that appeared on February 12, 2015. Click here to read more.