Earned Paid Sick Leave OrdinanceJ. Erik Jonsson Central LibraryJuly 9, 2019 and July 10, 2019

Beverly Davis, DirectorHannah Alexander, Partnership Liaison Office of Fair Housing and Human RightsCity of Dallas

Presentation Overview

• Purpose of Presentation• Background/History• Ordinance Requirements • Resources• Questions

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Purpose of Presentation

• Inform residents, businesses, employees, and other stakeholders about the earned paid sick leave ordinance

• Answer questions about the ordinance and learn what information is needed

• Provide direction to additional resources

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Background/History

• Earned paid sick leave ordinance passed by the Dallas City Council on April 24, 2019

• Ordinance passed to protect the health, safety, and welfare of City of Dallas residents

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Ordinance Overview

• No change to more generous policy• Employees covered • Employers covered and important dates • Accrual rate, cap, and carryover • Leave uses • Requesting leave and verification • Posting, recordkeeping, and other requirements

Investigation • Enforcement

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No Change to More Generous Leave Policies

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• Employers that provide vacation days and sick leave, or paid time off for employees to use however they please, do not have to change their policies if they meet the purpose, accrual, yearly cap, and usage requirements of the ordinance

• Employers do need to ensure that the signage is posted and that they comply with recordkeeping requirements and have written policies as required

Employees Covered

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• Employees that work at least 80 hours in a year for pay within the City of Dallas

• Includes paid interns, part-time employees, and paid apprentices but does not include independent contractors and unpaid interns

• Independent contractor versus employee determination through 40 T.A.C. § 821.5

Employers Covered

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• Includes temporary and employment agencies

• Does not include government entities

Important Dates

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• Ordinance goes into effect for employers with 6 or more employees on August 1, 2019• Except for violations of the anti-

retaliation provision, the City of Dallas cannot issue citations for ordinance violations until April 1, 2020

• No part of the ordinance goes into effect for employers with 5 or fewer employees until August 1, 2021

Accrual Rate, Cap, and Carryover

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• Employees accrue leave at a rate of at least 1 hour for 30 hours they work; employers can frontload minimum number of hours

• Employers with 16 or more employees are required to let employees accrue and carryover to the following year at least 64 hours of paid sick leave

Hypothetical: An employer chooses to frontload hours and gives each oftheir 20 employees 64 hours of paid sick leave on August 1, 2019. On July31, 2020 Estefania has 30 hours left and Joe has 0 hours left. How manyhours is the employer required to frontload on August 1, 2020 for Estefaniaand Joe?

Answer

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Hypothetical: An employer chooses to frontloadhours and gives each of their 20 employees 64hours of paid sick leave on August 1, 2019. On July31, 2020 Estefania has 30 hours left and Joe has 0hours left. How many hours is the employerrequired to frontload on August 1, 2020 forEstefania and Joe?

The employer is only required to bringEstefania’s, Joe’s, and other employees’ leavebalances back to at least 64 hours.

Accrual Rate, Cap, and Carryover (continued)

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• Employers with 15 or fewer employees are required to let employees accrue and carryover to the following year at least 48 hours

• It is permissible for a written contract between an employer and labor organization representing employees formed through the collective bargaining process to modify the yearly cap

Chart

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Employer size (in the past 12 months)

5 or fewer employees

15 or fewer employees

16 or more employees

Minimum rate of accrual

1 hour per 30 hours worked

1 hour per 30 hours worked

1 hour per 30 hours worked

Minimum accrual limit and minimum carry over of unused leave

48 hours 48 hours 64 hours

Effective date August 1, 2021 August 1, 2019 August 1, 2019

Leave Uses

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• Employee’s physical or mental illness, personal injury, preventative medical or health care, or health condition

• Employee’s need to care for their family member’s physical or mental illness, personal injury, preventative medical or health care, or health condition

Leave Uses (Continued)

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• Employee’s or their family member’s need to seek medical attention, seek relocation, obtain services of a victim services organization, or participate in legal or court ordered action related to an incident of victimization from domestic abuse, sexual assault, or stalking involving the employee or the employee's family member

Requesting Leave and Verification

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• Employees should request use of leave before their scheduled work time (e.g., a doctor’s appointment)

• An employer may not prevent employees from using their leave for an unforeseen qualified absence (e.g., an employee needs to leave work because their child became sick at school)

• An employer can verify that an employee is using leave for a permitted use on the 4th consecutive workday that an employee was scheduled to work

Recordkeeping and Other Requirements

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• Post the English and Spanish signs where employees can see them (posted on the City website)

• At least once a month, an employer must provide each employee with a written statement (electronic or on paper) with the employee’s available earned paid sick leave

• Employers are required to keep records relating to each employee’s use of paid sick leave for at least 3 years

• Provide written policies as required

Investigation

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• Employee has 2 years from the alleged violation to file a complaint with the Office of Fair Housing and Human Rights

• Office will investigate complaints and gather evidence from the employee, the employer, and any witnesses

• The director will determine if there was a violation

Enforcement

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• If the director finds that there was a violation, she will send a notice of violation to the employer with the assessed civil penalty

• An employer has 10 days after receipt of the notice of violation to address the violation and come into compliance

• If the employer does not voluntarily comply, the employer will become liable to the City for assessed civil penalty

Enforcement (continued)

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• Civil penalty shall not exceed $500 per violation • An employer may appeal any civil penalty • Remember:

• Except for violations of the anti-retaliation provision, no civil penalties will be issued for employers with 6 or more employees until April 1, 2020

• The Ordinance, including fines, does not go into effect for employers with 5 or fewer employees until August 1, 2021

Resources

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• www.dallascityhall.com/paid-sick-leave has resources for employers and employees and is being updated regularly

• It will have know-your-rights information, sample employee handbook language, sample policy language, leave accrual worksheet, FAQs, complaint form, etc.

• More information sessions coming soon

Contact Information

• Website: www.dallascityhall.com/paid-sick-leave

• Email: paidsickleave@dallascityhall.com• Tel.: 214-670-FAIR (3247)

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Earned Paid Sick Leave OrdinanceJ. Erik Jonsson Central LibraryJuly 9, 2019 and July 10, 2019

Beverly Davis, DirectorHannah Alexander, Partnership Liaison Office of Fair Housing and Human RightsCity of Dallas