Push Launched Toward Requiring Austin Employers To Provide Paid Worker Sick Leave (Video)

AUSTIN, TX — A push to secure a city ordinance requiring all employers in Austin to provide sick leave for their employees was kicked off this week.

District 4 City Councilman Greg Casar announced the effort on Monday at the headquarters of Workers Defense Project, 5604 Manor Rd., a nonprofit that advocates for immigrants and laborers. In making the announcement, Casar said nearly 40 percent of the local workforce don't have the ability to earn paid sick days.

“If you are a service sector worker or a construction worker, it’s more likely than not you don’t have paid sick days,” Casar said. “But this isn’t just low-wage workers. Twenty percent of middle-income Austinites are not allowed to earn paid sick days by their employers.”

Work Strong Austin, a coalition comprising various community organizations, helped launch the campaign, Its officials noted that more than 220,000 local workers—nearly 40 percent of the workforce—don't receive paid sick days.

Casar noted the effort to require paid sick leave is no anomaly for Austin; more than 30 cities and seven state pave passed similar legislation. The councilman said he would introduce a resolution during the Sept. 28 council meeting toward the goal of enacting an ordinance requiring employers to protect part-time and full-time workers.

Some workers at the press conference offered testimonials of the need for paid sick leave, one describing 60-hour work weeks split between two jobs without the luxury of paid sick leave.

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