The vast and complex patchwork of PSL laws expanded in Q4 with Michigan becoming the 11th PSL state. This summary includes:
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Paid Sick Leave Laws Effective in Q4
Paid Sick Leave Laws Effective After Q4
Paid Sick Leave Bills Introduced During Q4
- None, though some introduced previously are still pending.
Paid Sick Leave Preemption Developments
Alabama: Marnika Lewis v. State of Alabama et al. (11th Cir) (Case No.17-11009)(11th Cir. July 25, 2018). The Alabama Uniform Minimum Wage and Right-to-Work Act bars municipalities from requiring employers to provide employees wages or “employment benefits,” including leave, unless required by federal or state law. It was passed the day after Birmingham increased the minimum wage within the city. The plaintiffs brought various race-based challenges to the Act, all of which were rejected by a federal district court last year. In July, the Eleventh Circuit affirmed the dismissal of all claims except the “equal protection” constitutional claim, holding that the plaintiffs have plausibly alleged both that the Act “burdens black citizens more than white ones” and that it was enacted with a discriminatory purpose. The court remanded that claim to the district court.
Texas: On opening day of the pre-filing season in the Texas Legislature, one of the pre-filed bills would preempt municipalities from adopting or enforcing any ordinance requiring an employer to provide paid sick leave to an employee. House Bill 222 also voids any ordinance that requires an employer to provide paid sick leave, such as the Austin and San Antonio PSL ordinances. The legislative session opened on January 8, 2019. If enacted, the bill would be effective September 1, 2019.:
Proposed federal bill: The Workflex in the 21st Century Act, introduced in the House of Representatives in November, 2017, would expand ERISA preemption to override the patchwork of paid sick leave laws for an employer which voluntarily adopts a written qualified flexible workplace arrangement” (QWFA) that provides the required minimum amount of “compensable leave” and offers employees at least one of the listed “workflex options.” The bill died with the end of the 115th Congress.
Paid Sick Leave Litigation
Challenges to state PSL laws
Massachusetts: The Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act (RUIA) preempts the Massachusetts Earned Sick Time Law (MESTL) in its entirety as it applies to interstate rail carriers, according to a decision in August by a Massachusetts federal district court on remand from the First Circuit. The First Circuit had held previously that the MESTL provision dealing with benefits for an employee’s own medical condition was preempted by the RUIA but remanded the case to have the district court decide whether any other sections of MESTL were preempted by the RUIA or the Railway Labor Act or ERISA and whether any sections of the MESTL can survive as applied to interstate rail carriers. CSX Transp. v. Healey, 861 F.3d 276 (1st Cir. 2017).
Massachusetts and Washington: The Massachusetts Earned Sick Time Law (MESTL) and Washington State Paid Sick Leave Act (WPSL) as applied to flight crew are unconstitutional and preempted by the federal Airline Deregulation Act (ADA), according to complaints filed by the Air Transport Association of America, an association of airline carriers. The plaintiff claims these state laws violate the dormant Commerce Clause–the implicit restriction on a state or local government’s ability to unreasonably burden interstate commerce–and the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution. The plaintiff also alleges that the Airline Deregulation Act (ADA) preempts the state PSL laws with regard to both flight crew and ground crew because they relate to a “price, route or service of an air carrier.” Air Transport Association of America, d/b/a Airlines For America v. Maura Healey in her capacity as Attorney General of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (D.MA)(complaint filed 04/04/18); Air Transport Association of America, d/b/a Airlines For America v. The Washington Dep’t of Labor and Industries et al (W.D. WA)(complaint filed 02/06/18).
Challenges to local PSL laws
Pittsburgh, PA: The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania will decide whether Pittsburgh had authority to enact the Sick Days Act which it adopted three years ago. Last year, an appellate court affirmed a lower court decision that the city did not have the authority to enact it and invalidated the law. The appeal will focus on an interpretation of the Home Rule Charter Law, which limits the City’s authority to regulate business “except as expressly provided by statutes….” Oral argument in the Supreme Court occurred on October 23, 2018. Pennsylvania Restaurant and Lodging Ass’n v. City of Pittsburgh and Service Employees Int’l Union, Local 32 BJ. (Pa. Supreme Court, 57 WAP 2017).
Austin, TX: The Austin Earned Sick Time Ordinance is unconstitutional because it is preempted by the Texas Minimum Wage Act (TMWA), the Texas Court of Appeals, Third District, ruled in November. The court’s ruling focused largely on whether the sick days under ordinance were a “wage.” Relying on dictionary definitions, the court held that the Ordinance establishes a wage and is thus preempted by the TMWA. The Austin PSL ordinance had been scheduled to go into effect on October 1, 2018 but its implementation had been enjoined pending the outcome of the litigation. The City of Austin, reportedly, intends to appeal to the Texas Supreme Court. Texas Ass’n of Business et al v City of Austin, Texas et al (TX Ct of Appeals, Third District, November 16, 2018).
Other Paid Sick Leave Developments To Watch
Albany County, NY: The County’s Paid Sick Leave Act was introduced in March and referred to the Legislature’s Law Committee. There have been two public hearings. The Law Committee will revisit the proposal in 2019.
Cook County Earned Sick Leave Ordinance: More than 80% of the municipalities within Cook County had opted out of the County PSL ordinance. The Village of Wilmette, after opting out of the County PSL ordinance twice, opted back into it. The villages of Northbrook and Western Springs revoked their “opt out” of the County PSL ordinance earlier this year. More municipalities within Cook County are expected to reconsider their opt out decisions this year.
Albuquerque and Portland, ME. Either city could be the next to enact a PSL ordinance. After a multi-front, prolonged legal battle, Albuquerque voters in 2017 narrowly rejected a PSL bill. A more narrow bill is being debated in the legislature. In Portland, a PSL bill was introduced in 2017 and is wending its way through the legislative process.
All part of life’s rich paid sick leave pageant!