Tempe considers mandating paid sick days for private companies

• Tempe council to look at studying whether private companies, such as restaurants and bars, must offer paid sick days to their workers
• The plan would allow workers time off when they or a loved one are sick without sacrificing a day's pay

Tempe workers soon might not have to choose between taking a sick day and losing a day's pay.

That’s because the city could explore whether to adopt an ordinance requiring private companies to provide paid sick leave for their workers, regardless of whether the employees work full- or part time.

“It’s so families that work in a part-time capacity … have some sick days in case they or a family member are sick,” said Councilman Joel Navarro, one of three council members asking the city to research the matter. “It’s an issue that’s been coming up. And it’s the day and time to vet it out.”

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that nationwide 24 percent of part-time employees have paid sick leave, compared with 74 percent of full-time workers.

In Arizona, 45 percent of the state's roughly 2 million private-sector employees are estimated to receive paid sick leave, according to a study from the Institute for Women’s Policy Research.

Sick leave: Should it be mandatory?

Paid sick leave initiatives have been part of a broader labor movement focused on passing laws at the local level, which includes increases to the minimum wage.

Tempe would be the first city in Arizona to adopt a paid-sick-leave ordinance.  Four states, 19 cities, including San Francisco and Seattle, and one county  have sick-leave laws.

“This is something that has been going on for some period of time in larger cities,” said George Pettit, Arizona State University professor of practice at the School of Public Affairs. “It gets back to the recent local movement to establish what some people characterize as an affordable living environment. So people (can) live and work within a community.”

In Tempe, workers’ salaries haven’t kept pace with rising home and rental prices.

From 2000 to 2011, median home values rose 84 percent, while median rents rose 24 percent, city records show. Median household income in Tempe rose about 13 percent.

Pettit said cities vary in how they implement their ordinances and he isn’t aware of any comprehensive academic studies showing if they help or harm businesses.

While talks have yet to start, it’s likely that any ordinance passed in Tempe will resemble what other municipalities have already passed.

Depending on the size of a business, most city ordinances require employers to grant one hour of paid sick time for every 30 hours of work. In some cities, employees can earn up to 72 hours a year in paid sick leave.

Union bosses at the United Food and Commercial Workers Union have considered pushing Tempe to put such an initiative on the ballot so voters could decide.

This past Labor Day, UFCW Local 99 President James McLaughlin announced that a statewide paid-sick-leave ballot initiative would be sought, city records show.

McLaughlin did not return The Republic’s calls for comment.

Navarro said all options are on the table right now and he expects to hold conversations with labor and business groups as the city works through a potential ordinance.

It could turn out to be a short conversation.

In 2013 the state Legislature passed a law prohibiting cities from mandating private employers offer paid sick leave.

Steve Chucri, Arizona Restaurant Association president and CEO, believes Tempe would violate that provision with the passage of a local ordinance.

“My guess is it would get tied up in the courts and ruled unconstitutional,” Chucri said.

Chucri said the law was intended to protect businesses from arbitrary government mandates.

California paid sick leave act goes into effect July 1

“There is no hue and cry from the public on this,” he said. “If you were to ask the dining public, they’re going to say let the restaurant owner decide on how best to run his or her restaurant, not a city or a town.”

Chucri said in the restaurant industry, where schedules are flexible, an employee might miss a shift on Monday due to an illness, but can work with their manager to make it up later in the week so as not to miss out on pay.

Paid-leave laws can end up hurting the same people they’re designed to help since business owners could cut back on hours or raise prices to offset the regulation’s cost.

“There are unintended consequences,” he said.

Despite his opposition to a new ordinance, Chucri said the city should still hold talks with the various groups to gauge their opinions.

A poll commissioned by Arizona Wins, a coalition that works on issues that affect working families, showed that 80 percent of likely Tempe voters polled last June favored a paid leave ordinance.

"We are hopeful our city council members will listen to the wishes of their constituents....and move this ordinance forward," said Allie Bones, member of the Healthy Families, Healthy Workplaces coalition, a group comprised of various social service organizations in favor of the Tempe ordinance, in a press release. "It's clear that Tempe residents see the value in offering earned paid sick time for employees to care for themselves and their families without risk of losing their job or compromising their safety."

The council will discuss studying a paid sick leave ordinance Thursday.