Will Austin's New Paid Sick Leave Catch Fire Across Texas?

The Austin City Council made history in February when it voted 9–2 to approve a paid sick leave policy for Austin employers after several hours of testimony on both sides, stretching past midnight, swayed the once evenly split panel to a lopsided decision. The measure makes Austin the first city in the South to require pay for time off while sick.

Effective Oct. 1, 2018, more than 220,000 workers, approximately 37% of the Austin metro workforce, will be eligible under the new policy, though multiple challenges to the ordinance have already been mounted. Employers will have until June 1, 2019 to comply, and employers with five or fewer employees have until Oct. 1, 2019 to do so before being subject to violations.

Under the measure, eligible employees earn one hour of sick time per 30 hours worked, up to 48 hours annually for employers with six to 15 employees, and up to 64 hours annually for employers with more than 15 employees. Employers with five or fewer employees won't be required to offer paid sick leave until October 2020.

Employees may use the time for their own illness or to care for family members. Other valid reasons include pre-emptive care and time off relating to domestic abuse, sexual assault and other related issues.

The decision was welcomed by many labor groups and family-rights organizations but the chances that Austin's new ordinance will be the first of many across Texas are low. It's been 25 years since the federal Family and Medical Leave Act was passed into law. Since then, sick leave policies have not evolved to any great extent.

The greater issue beyond complying—and affording—increased paid leave is the distrust an employer may harbor toward certain employees about misusing sick time.

There are no federal laws that require employers to provide paid sick leave, and to date, only nine states and Washington D.C. currently require paid sick leave. Connecticut was the first state to enact such a rule, in 2012, requiring employers with 50 or more employees to provide most non-exempt workers with up to five days of paid sick leave per year. A 2014 study found 10% of small businesses reported the law increased payroll costs by 3% or more, with the average worker taking only four sick days, and half using three days or fewer.

Fears of mandated paid sick leave spreading across Texas are as grounded as those of employees widely abusing such a policy to take extra paid time off. In the case of Austin, some protections were built into the measure: Employers may ask for verification when sick leave extends beyond three days of missed work and are not required to pay out accrued sick time when a worker quits.

Austin's new policy may, to many, feel restrictive and unfair to small businesses that don't have a large workforce to rely on day to day. But the greater issue beyond complying—and affording—increased paid leave is the distrust an employer may harbor toward certain employees about misusing sick time. Did your business grow too quickly to take the necessary time to recruit, hire and retain workers you're confident won't falsely call in sick? What about other policies you trust your employees to follow?

Although the jury is still out on whether Austin's new sick leave policy will withstand scrutiny from legal challenges or influence other cities across Texas to adopt similar measures, growing your business means actively following best practices to ensure you're hiring and employing individuals you can trust.

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