27 November 2019 San Antonio paid sick leave ordinance halted by district judge The business association, Alliance for Securing and Strengthening the Economy in Texas (ASSET), announced that Bexar County District Court Judge Peter Sakai blocked the San Antonio paid sick leave ordinance from taking effect on December 1, 2019. As we reported previously, the ordinance was originally effective August 1, 2019, but a lawsuit filed by a San Antonio business coalition delayed the effective date to December 1, 2019. (City of San Antonio, Texas announcement; EY Payroll Newsflash Vol. 20, #104, 7-30-2019.) Under the ordinance, private San Antonio employers with more than 15 employees must provide a minimum of 64 hours of paid sick leave a year to their employees by allowing them to accrue one hour of sick leave for every 30 hours worked. Employers with 15 or less employees must provide 48 hours per employee per year, unless the employer chooses a higher limit. The mandatory effective date of the paid sick leave requirement is delayed to August 1, 2021 for employers with five or less employees. (EY Payroll Newsflash Vol. 19, #145, 9-13-2018.) 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.) Dallas’ paid sick leave ordinance took effect August 1, 2019, but as announced by the city, enforcement of the ordinance is delayed until April 1, 2020. As we reported, Dallas’ paid sick leave ordinance also faces a legal challenge. (EY Payroll Newsflash Vol. 20, #147, 9-19-2019.) 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 voting on the measure.
Document ID: 2019-2102 | |||||||||
