The City of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania announced that the paid sick leave ordinance that was enacted in 2015 and upheld by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in July 2019 takes effect on March 15, 2020.

Under the ordinance, Pittsburgh employers with 15 or more employees are required to provide up to 40 hours of paid sick leave per year (24 hours for employers with fewer than 15 employees). Employees must accrue a minimum of one hour of paid sick leave for every 35 hours worked within Pittsburgh (up to the maximum of 40/24 hours per year).

For the first year after the effective date of March 15, 2020, employers of fewer than 15 employees are required only to provide unpaid sick leave to accrue at one hour for every 35 hours worked. Effective March 15, 2021, these employees must begin to accrue paid sick leave.

History

As we reported, the ordinance originally passed in 2015 and was to become effective on January 11, 2016. (EY Payroll Newsflash, Vol. 16, 237, 8-31-15.)

Prior to the January 11, 2016, effective date, the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas found that the City of Pittsburgh’s Paid Sick Days Act (PSDA) was invalid and unenforceable. The lower court ruled that as a “home rule municipality,” the City of Pittsburgh is prohibited by state law from regulating businesses by “determining their duties, responsibilities or requirements.”

Because the ordinance placed affirmative duties on businesses, occupations and employers, the lower court found that the ordinance exceeded the City’s authority as a home rule municipality. (EY Payroll Newsflash, Vol. 17,014, 1-14-16.)

In July 2019, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court overturned the lower court’s decision that the ordinance was invalid and unenforceable. Instead, the when “asked to consider whether these ordinances run afoul of the qualified statutory preclusion of local regulations that burden business,” the High Court held “that the PSDA does not exceed those limitations.”(EY Payroll Newsflash Vol. 20, #107, 8-6-2019.)

Ordinance details

The ordinance requires Pittsburgh employers with 15 or more employees to provide up to 40 hours of paid sick leave per year (24 hours for employees with fewer than 15 employees). Employees must accrue one hour of paid sick leave for every 35 hours worked within the geographic boundaries of Pittsburgh (up to the maximum of 40/24 hours per year), unless the employer’s policy is more generous.

For employers of fewer than 15 employees, for the first year after the effective date of March 15, 2020, only unpaid sick leave is required to accrue at one hour for every 35 hours worked. Effective March 15, 2021, these employees must begin to accrue paid sick leave.

All covered employees must be entitled to use accrued sick leave beginning on the 90th calendar day following the commencement of their employment. Current employees must begin accruing hours on March 15, 2020. Hours worked in January or February of 2020 will not count for purposes of accrual.

Under the ordinance guidelines, a covered employee is defined as an individual who performs work within the geographic boundaries of the City of Pittsburgh for at least 35 hours in a calendar year. This does not include independent contractors, state or federal employees, any member of a construction union covered by a collective bargaining unit, or seasonal employees.

An employee who works for an employer located outside of the geographic boundaries of the City of Pittsburgh but who performs work within the geographic boundaries of the City is a covered employee once the employee performs at least 35 hours of work within the geographic boundaries of the city in a calendar year. In such an instance, only the work performed within the City of Pittsburgh is required to be included in the computation of accrued sick leave.

Employers must provide eligible employees with paid sick leave to care for the employee’s or a family member’s illness, injury, or health condition, or for use in response to a public health emergency or a family member’s exposure to a communicable disease.

Employers must allow accrued, unused sick lime to be carried over from one calendar year to the next, up to the maximum accrual cap of 40 hours (24 hours for employers of fewer than 15 employees). Alternatively, if the employer “frontloads” at least the maximum number of hours mandated by the ordinance at the beginning of each calendar year, the employer is not required to carry over the employee's unused accrued sick leave from the previous calendar year.

For example, for a large employer, if the employee’s 40 hours are carried over from the previous year, it is as though the employer has frontloaded 40 hours and the covered employee may accrue no further paid sick leave in that calendar year. If only 20 hours are carried over, the covered employee may accrue up to 20 hours in that calendar year for a total of 40 hours.

Employers may use different methods to provide paid sick leave to employees, choosing to frontload paid sick leave for certain employees and to use the accrual method for others, provided all covered employees are granted their entitled benefits under the ordinance.

Go here for an explanation of the ordinance, here for frequently asked questions, and here for the notice employers are required to display in a conspicuous place.

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