By Susan Schoenfeld, JD, Senior Legal Editor
Just last week, the New York City Council reached a deal with employee rights activists which could require private employers in the city with 15 or more employees to provide up to five paid sick days per year to eligible employees.

The terms of the measure, which reportedly could affect over one million people in New York City without paid sick leave, are subject to change before any final rule is agreed upon.

If the proposal is approved, the Big Apple will join Portland, Oregon in the growing list of cities to recently adopt paid sick leave measures.

Other jurisdictions with paid sick leave rules include Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Seattle, San Francisco and Philadelphia.

Getting paid leave in Portland

Most recently, the Portland, Oregon City Council passed a measure, effective January 1, 2014, that will require private employers with at least six employees to provide qualifying employees up to 40 hours of paid sick leave per year. Employers with fewer than six employees must provide up to 40 hours of unpaid sick leave per year.

Temporary, part-time and full-time employees in Portland will have protected sick leave if they work in at least 240 hours per calendar year. Employees accrue on hour of sick leave for every 30 hours worked, and accrued leave can be carried over from year to year. Leave may be taken for an employee’s own illness, injury or preventive medical care.

In addition paid sick leave is allowed for a qualifying family member’s similar needs. Covered family members include the employee’s children, parents, parents-in-law, grandparents, grandchildren and registered same-sex domestic partners. Covered leave may also be taken for school closures, domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking that affects the employee or the employee’s family members.

And federal measures keep on coming …

Not to be outdone, both House and Senate Democrats have again proposed a measure to provide paid sick leave for employees as a matter of federal law. The Healthy Families Act, a bill that would allow workers to earn paid sick days to recover from a short-term illness, would also allow covered employees to care for a sick family member, obtain preventive or diagnostic treatment, or seek help if they have been victims of domestic violence.

Under one version of the proposed legislation, covered employees would be entitled to earn up to 56 hours (seven days) of paid sick time per year—one hour of paid sick time for every 30 hours worked. Similar measures have been introduced in Congress in various forms for many years.

Susan Schoenfeld, J.D., is a Senior Legal Editor for BLR’s human resources and employment law publications. Ms. Schoenfeld has practiced in the area of employment litigation and counseling, covering topics such as disability discrimination, wrongful discharge, sexual harassment, and general employment discrimination. She has litigated numerous cases before the U.S. Court of Appeals, state court, and at the U.S. Department of Labor. In addition to litigating employment cases in state and federal court, she provided training and counseling to corporate clients regarding employment-related issues. Prior to entering private practice, Ms. Schoenfeld was an attorney with the Civil Rights Division at the U.S. Department of Labor in Washington, D.C., where she advised federal agencies, drafted regulations, conducted inspector training courses, and litigated cases for the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, the Directorate of Civil Rights, and the Mine Safety and Health Administration. Ms. Schoenfeld received her undergraduate degree, cum laude, with honors, from Union College, and her law degree from the National Law Center at George Washington University.