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King sick leave bill on track

A proposed paid sick leave ordinance for the City of Madison is slowly making its way to Common Council for approval.

The ordinance would give lower-income workers the ability to visit a doctor or recover from an illness without worrying about getting fired or falling short on rent or utility bills.

Ald. Austin King, District 8, who authored the ordinance, said the proposal would only apply to businesses with at least five employees on staff. If approved, the ordinance would permit employees who have worked for an employer a minimum of 60 days and work at least 12 hours a week, one paid sick hour for every 30 hours they work. King said for a full-time employee, this is equal to about nine days per year.

King said he thinks the ordinance is likely to pass once it reaches Common Council.

"When the proposal was introduced, we had nine co-sponsors," King said. "So all we need is two more votes in the common council for it to pass."

However, the ordinance must pass through four city committees before it reaches Common Council. The Equal Opportunities Commission, the Economic Development Commission, the Board of Health for Madison and Dane County and the Early Childhood Care and Education Board will review and make suggestions to the proposed ordinance, King said. The process will take a while, he added.

"It'll take some time," King said. "I'd like to see it reach Common Council within the calendar year, but I wouldn't be surprised if we end up hearing it in January."

King explained he authored the ordinance because the lack of paid sick leave forces people to make choices they should not have to make.

"It's pretty simple, everyone gets sick, but not everyone has paid sick leave," King said. "For some people, when they or a family member gets sick, this presents an impossible choice. They must either miss work to take care of themselves, which prevents them from earning the money they need to live, or they can go to work and earn money. However, doing that produces poor work quality and endangers coworkers."

Vicky Selkowe, a leader for the Healthy Families, Healthy City Campaign, an organization behind the proposal, said there is compelling evidence that shows employees who work while they are sick actually hinder business.

"Research done at Cornell and Harvard shows that when workers show up to work sick, it costs employers far more than if they had stayed home," Selkowe said. "Paid sick leave would also be beneficial to employers because there would be lower turnover and fewer firings."

Ald. Zach Brandon, District 7, said though he believes employees are definitely valuable to the success of a business, he has reservations regarding the proposed paid-sick-leave ordinance.

Brandon said he believes employers should accommodate employees who need to miss work for a legitimate reason, but is concerned about the vulnerability of employers.

"There is a major problem of proof," Brandon said. "If you don't require legitimate proof, then you're basically just mandating paid vacation days."