NYC Paid Sick Leave Bill In Effect
New York City businesses with five or more workers, are now required to grant employees at least five paid days of sick leave.
This new law is a portion of a recently approved City Council bill. The bill was ratified in March by Mayor Bill de Blasio and offers an approximated half million added workers sick time.
Small business owners have mixed opinions on the new law. As NY1 reports, newly established Dandy Espresso on Madison Avenue employs seven people. Owner Albert Wu states, "It's definitely going to be more paperwork for me and my manager and it's going to be more time invested into the store in terms of working hours for us and also we are going to have to be paying for employees that are on a sick day while we are working their shifts". Wu doesn't believe the newly imposed bill will be productive in New York, where little businesses face severely costly operating amounts. The coffee shop owner will still completely adhere to the new rules.
Assistant restaurant manager and chef Juan Vital is relieved over the new law, as he is the father of two small kids. Vital claims, "Before I used to think about it: If I'm going to get sick, and I'm not going to show up to work, I am getting fired or I'm not going to get that extra money. Now there is going to be something better". Manager Dave Hinkly feels that the plan is beneficial to workers but maybe not for the business at large. Of his work ethic he explains, "I came from a family where you work for everything so it's expected if you don't work you don't get paid. That's the way I was brought up".
City Hall is granting businesses 6-months to comply with sick leave requirements. The new law is currently being communicated to the New York City masses.
