As supporters of the Milwaukee sick leave referendum looked to sit down with businesses opponents to work out enforcement, businesses were thinking about lawsuits.
“Don’t despair yet,” said Steve Baas, government affairs director for the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce. “We’re going to take a real close look at any challenge that we can bring to this.”
Baas said the association would file a notice with the city stating its intent to give the sick leave rule a legal challenge, but would need board approval before actually filing a suit. If the chamber challenges the rule, Baas said they’d ask courts to delay enforcement of the rules until the legal questions are answered.
The referendum on the sick leave rules passed on a vote of 130,562 to 60,796. The binding referendum requires employees working in Milwaukee to receive up to one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked in Milwaukee. Employees of companies with fewer than 10 workers would get up to five sick days, and those working for larger companies would accrue up to nine days.
Sangita Nayak, 9to5 Milwaukee lead organizer, said her group wants to work with Mayor Tom Barrett, who opposed the referendum, and businesses to draft rules to implement the referendum. The goal would be to create an enforcement system that will be easy for businesses to comply with.
“There’s some things that have to be honored in that ordinance but, sure, in the technical rulemaking I hope the mayor’s office envisions it’s a smooth process,” Nayak said. “I’m hoping the mayor’s office is willing to sit down with groups that supported this as well as employers and make sure there is enforcement.”
First thing’s first, Baas said. The legal questions must be answered before there’s talk of enforcement.
“If this new ordinance is illegal, you are not improving an illegal law by rearranging the deck chairs on the illegal Titanic,” Baas said.
Even though the ordinance passed with ease, Baas said businesses have their right to consider a legal challenge.
“There have been many instances in the history of this country where laws that were hastily passed were thrown out in court,” he said. “The will of the majority doesn’t subvert the constitution.”
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November 5th, 2008 at 6:13 pm
So
November 6th, 2008 at 4:45 am
I feel like this referendum is not really for sick days and will end up being an enforced vacation package. There are so many people that take advantage of the system that I am wondering how this will be monitored. Also, what if any kind of paid absence just does not fit in a current businesses plan, will they lower employees wages to make it work. People now just want something for nothing. What if a business has only say 6 employees and in the last month of the year feel they can use up their sick time (since they have it coming to them) and 5 of them take off. Now the business has no employees. This is very different than employees planning vacation time, which is usually scheduled in advance. It just amazes me when an organization like the 9to5
states, “We believe that businesses will find this will be a good thing for them because the costs of retraining and rehiring will be offset”. No other person besides the business owner should decide what is beneficial or not for their own investment.
November 6th, 2008 at 9:48 am
We’re a small business with 35 employees On the surface it would appear that this ordinance could cost my company 35k in direct wages and probably $3-5k in compliance cost such as developing an effective method of tracking the hours earned. I still oppose the bill and hope the MMAC is successful, but once you read the ordinance the impact may be much less.
The language allows for any paid leave policy that allows at least one hour paid leave per thirty hours worked and can be taken at will. Our company gives all employees a week of vacation, which we allow employees to take in half day increments. In cases of personal emergencies we have allow them to do so without advance notice. So the impact won’t be as great as we thought. We also give employees six paid holidays for a total of eleven paid off days. There is no law that requires paid holidays so a company could probably restructure those days if they wished to do this without incurring much additional cost.
Actually I think a general paid leave, which is permitted by the ordinance, is much more equitable for all employees than sick days as some would abuse and others under use. Here you go – one hour for every 30 worked. You don’t have to pretend you’re sick, use them at will, but when they’re gone they’re gone.
Beyond this however I think many of those who voted for the referendum will have regrets. Will this force open union contracts at a time of a serious economic downturn. Timing could not be worse for those workers affected.
Then think about temp agencies that are so prevalent throughout the city, such as those on Mitchell Street and Greenfield Ave. They employee huge numbers of area residents. Most of these firms operate out of rented storefronts. I am certain you will see many, if not all of these firms packing up and moving to West Milwaukee, West Allis, Glendale, etc. While many of their employees will follow them it will create a glut of vacant store fronts on already struggling commercial districts.
Finally I wonder if firms like Manpower are kicking themselves in the butt for taking a $78 million dollar gamble and moving INTO Milwaukee last year.
While not an attorney, I do question how this ordinance can coexist with Wisconsin Statute
November 7th, 2008 at 11:07 am
This is just another example of politicians who can’t manage city government distracting people with a wedge issue. People who have no money want free sick days versus people who actually have to pay for this and don’t want to. Given that sick days are the most abused benefit there is, this is one bad idea.
What is worth an article would be an investigation into how judges use sick days. Like that Waukesha County judge who didn’t work for 1.5 years and was still paid anyway.
November 10th, 2008 at 4:55 pm
I work in an parts plant in Milwaukee, Chrysler U.A.W. Does Chrysler and the U.A.W. have to add on nine more sick days to what they have already agreed with in the last contract?