By Harry Colbert, Jr. —
Already approved in Minneapolis, the St. Paul legislature seems on its way to approving its own paid sick time ordinance.
In a Tuesday (June 21) evening listening session members of the St. Paul City Council heard from several workers calling for the city to follow Minneapolis’ lead and pass a law mandating employers within the city offer earned, paid sick time to its workers. The law that was passed this past May in Minneapolis is being hailed as one of the best paid sick time ordinances in the nation.
Under the Minneapolis provision workers would be allowed to earn up to 48 hours of sick time that could be used without question from employers for illness, family illness, instances of staking or domestic violence, mental health issues and even a child’s snow day. In addition, the Minneapolis law has a broad interpretation of family, extending it to children – biological, adopted or foster, parents, spouses and domestic partners, siblings or those considered wards of the worker.
Anthony Newby, executive director of Neighborhoods Organizing for Change (NOC), which was at the forefront of the move to get the Minneapolis law passed, said passage is a great victory for hourly workers, many of whom are people of color.
“This is something tangible to close the disparity gap we all hear about daily,” said Newby. “This is a shift from workers bearing all the responsibility to a shared responsibility.”
For Lucina Kayee, the new law affects her directly. Kayee, who suffers from acute asthma and who also has the lupus gene, said she has often gone to work when she probably should not have for fear of being fired and because she could not afford to lose pay.
“I had to work. I didn’t want to be homeless,” said Kayee.
Newby said initially there was small resistance from some employers to the proposed changes in business practices, but he said once a dialogue began that resistance dissipated.
“A lot of businesses were fully on board when they realized this would improve the overall health and productivity for their workers,” said Newby. “And they were eased a bit when they realized there would be a phase-in period.”
The Minneapolis ordinance goes into effect July of 2017.
Kayee agreed with Newby’s assessment of increased productivity.
“I think workers are happier and more productive when the employer treats them like family, and not just profit,” said Kayee.
Earned sick time in St. Paul would apply to all working more than 30 hours per week. The St. Paul City Council is expected to hold a vote on the measure in August.
