19 September 2019 Dallas, Texas paid sick leave ordinance challenged A court challenge to the Dallas paid sick leave ordinance was filed by the Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF) on behalf of two Dallas businesses. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced that he had joined the lawsuit. The Dallas ordinance took effect August 1, 2019. (TPPF press release; press release, Texas attorney general's office.) It's reported that TPPF previously sent a letter to the city stating that, to avoid a lawsuit, the city should delay its effective date to December 1, 2019. However, the effective date remained August 1, 2019, as of the date of this publication. Nonetheless, as we reported previously, the Dallas Office of Equity & Human Rights' frequently asked questions about the ordinance states the following regarding employer sanctions: For employers with 6 or employees, except for violations of the anti-retaliation provision, the City of Dallas will not enforce the Earned Paid Sick Time Ordinance until April 1, 2020. Even if an employee properly files a complaint within 2 years of the alleged violation, the Office will not investigate complaints of alleged violations that occur between August 1, 2019 and April 1, 2020 or enforce the ordinance during that period. For employers with 5 or fewer employees, no part of the Ordinance, including enforcement, goes into effect until August 1, 2021. A mandatory poster is available on the city's website. A San Antonio business coalition filed a lawsuit to stop San Antonio's paid sick leave ordinance from taking effect on August 1, 2019. As a result, the city of San Antonio, Texas announced that the effective date for its paid sick leave ordinance, originally effective August 1, 2019, is delayed to December 1, 2019. (EY Payroll Newsflash Vol. 20, #104, 7-30-2019.) Austin was the first Texas city to pass a paid sick leave ordinance, followed by San Antonio and Dallas. As we reported, Austin's paid sick leave ordinance is on hold until a legal battle is resolved. (EY Payroll Newsflash Vol. 19, #197, 12-5-2018.) Texas state legislators had vowed to pass legislation in 2019 that would preempt Texas cities/localities from enforcing paid sick leave ordinances; however, the legislative session adjourned before legislation could be enacted.
Document ID: 2019-1662 | |||||||||
