If lawmakers in three Texas cities win in court, most employers within their borders will be required by law to provide paid sick days. Although the federal government and most states do not mandate paid time off for sickness, the lawmakers in these three cities believe such a benefit is an employee right. They have taken it upon themselves to ensure workers in their jurisdictions have access to it.
Could this be the next big employment debate? It’s possible. States are already beginning to accept paid family leave as an essential workplace right, so it is not a stretch to say that paid sick time could be right around the corner. What happens in Texas could set the table for legislation in other states.
What It’s All About
The debate in Dallas, San Antonio, and Austin is about whether or not lawmakers have a responsibility to offer any sort of sick pay protection to low-wage earners. These are earners whose jobs do not compensate well enough to include paid time off. Workers are typically hourly workers making minimum wage or just slightly more.
Minimum wage in Texas currently stands at $7.25 per hour. That works out to $290 per week based on a 40-hour work week. Missing a single eight-hour shift means an employee loses out on $58 in pay. For someone struggling to meet the bills on minimum wage, that is quite a bit of money.
However, it is also quite a bit of money to employers. Many of the workers affected by ordinances in the three Texas cities work in industries in which employers cannot afford to allow shifts to go empty. Said shifts have to be filled one way or another, so that means paying other employees to work shifts left uncovered by sick employees.
Employers forced to pay sick time would essentially be paying twice the amount for a single shift. The $58 gained by the sick employee becomes a $116 expense for the employer. At an average of six sick days per year, employers stand to lose as much as $600 per employee annually.
Minimum Wage and Employee Benefits
Dallas-based BenefitMall has plenty of experience handling payroll for small businesses now affected by the ordinances in Dallas, San Antonio, and Austin. They say that both sides in the debate have legitimate arguments. But in the end, it may come down to a matter of constitutional law.
The U.S. Constitution makes no mention of a minimum wage. As such, the federal minimum wage exists as the result of congressional legislation. Without that legislation there would be no federal minimum wage.
In Texas, those who oppose minimum wage ordinances claim the Texas Constitution prohibits local municipalities from forcing companies to pay employees more than minimum wage. If that understanding is correct, the state constitution also prohibits localities from mandating any kind of employee benefits. That would include paid sick days.
It’s Up to the Courts
The Dallas ordinance officially went into effect on August 1. However, it’s likely to face additional court challenges in the very near future. Ordinances in Austin and San Antonio are already tied up in the courts. They are both delayed as a result.
All eyes will be on Texas courts and their forthcoming decisions. It’s up to them to decide the constitutionality of the ordinances. If those ordinances pass court muster, it is quite possible that other Texas cities will follow suit. If the ordinances fail, it will be back to the drawing board for those who want to see mandated sick time become a reality.