What to Know
- City Council passed a bill that will guarantee up to 40 hours of paid sick leave for Philadelphia workers to recover from COVID-19, care for a sick family member or a child whose school was closed or take time off to get a COVID vaccine or booster shot.
- The bill will apply to any employer with 25 or more workers and cover all employees who are expected to physically report to their jobs.
- The passage comes after Philadelphia announced it would drop its indoor mask mandate for most locations due to entering the “all-clear” phase of its COVID response.
City Council passed a bill that will guarantee up to 40 hours of paid sick leave for Philadelphia workers to recover from COVID-19, care for a sick family member or a child whose school was closed or take time off to get a COVID vaccine or booster shot.
The bill, which was introduced by Councilmember Kendra Brooks (At-Large) will apply to any employer with 25 or more workers and cover all employees who are expected to physically report to their jobs.
“I’m proud to deliver emergency paid sick leave to Philadelphia workers once again, so that they will not be left out in the cold as we learn to live with the pandemic,” Brooks said. “Previous versions of this bill demonstrated that paid sick leave is good for workplace safety, worker retention, and keeping businesses open—safely.”
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Two previous versions of the bill were passed in September 2020 and March 2021 but expired due to sunset provisions.
The bill was co-sponsored by Councilmembers Cindy Bass (8th District), Jamie Gauthier (3rd District), Katherine Gilmore Richardson (At-Large), Helen Gym (At-Large), Cherelle Parker (9th District), Mark Squilla (1st District), and Isaiah Thomas (At-Large).
Councilmembers Allan Domb (At-Large), Derrick Green (At-Large), David Oh (At-Large), and Brian O’Neil (10th District) all voted against it.
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While debating the bill, councilmembers weighed the concerns of chambers of commerce, corporate lobbyists, union members and low-wage workers.
“This is a victory for low-wage workers across the city who can now go into work with the peace of mind that they will never have to choose between staying home sick with COVID-19 and being unable to make rent or coming into work sick and putting the public in danger,” Brooks said.
The passage comes after Philadelphia announced it would drop its indoor mask mandate for most locations due to entering the “all-clear” phase of its COVID response.
The city's "all clear" COVID-19 response phase is the least stringent tier in a four-level system announced Feb. 16. Under the "all clear" phase, at least three of the following metrics need to be true:
- Average new cases per day are less than 100
- Hospitalizations are under 50
- Percent positivity is under 2%
- Cases have not risen by more than 50% in the previous 10 days
As of Tuesday, the city was averaging 87 new cases a day and had 156 people being treated for COVID-19 in local hospitals, Health Commissioner Dr. Cheryl Bettigole said.
“With many other protections being phased out, we must ensure that we are not sacrificing our workforce for the sake of convenience or profit,” Brooks said. “I am grateful to my colleagues for standing up for the people who have carried the city on their backs through all phases of the pandemic.”
A spokesperson told NBC10 Mayor Jim Kenney plans to sign the bill as soon as next week pending a final review.
