Jolt
WI Gov. Walker Overturns Voter-Approved Paid Leave Law
Today's loser: Paid sick leave.
Mayor Mike McGinn told reporters this week that he had "not taken a position" on paid sick leave, saying that while "it's important to employees if they don't have paid sick leave, I also understand why there are a lot of employers who are concerned about the cost burden, particularly small employers." McGinn has the support of many in the small-business and nightlife community.
One person who has taken a position on paid sick leave is Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker. Walker, famous for his efforts to prohibit collective bargaining by public workers---signed legislation today that effectively overturns a law in Milwaukee, approved by a margin of nearly 70 percent in 2008, that guarantees paid sick leave to every employee in the city. (Milwaukee is one of just three big cities nationwide that has a paid sick leave law.) The law, which has been under a court challenge for more than two years, was just upheld by the Wisconsin Court of Appeals a few weeks ago.
Seattle, as PubliCola first reported last month, could soon consider a law similar to Milwaukee's that would require businesses to provide between five and nine days' paid sick or family leave, depending on the size of the business; the proposal, which hasn't been formally introduced, was the subject of this week's ThinkTank.
The bill, which Walker has said would promote jobs, would prohibit any city from enacting a mandatory paid sick leave ordinance.
Mayor Mike McGinn told reporters this week that he had "not taken a position" on paid sick leave, saying that while "it's important to employees if they don't have paid sick leave, I also understand why there are a lot of employers who are concerned about the cost burden, particularly small employers." McGinn has the support of many in the small-business and nightlife community.
One person who has taken a position on paid sick leave is Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker. Walker, famous for his efforts to prohibit collective bargaining by public workers---signed legislation today that effectively overturns a law in Milwaukee, approved by a margin of nearly 70 percent in 2008, that guarantees paid sick leave to every employee in the city. (Milwaukee is one of just three big cities nationwide that has a paid sick leave law.) The law, which has been under a court challenge for more than two years, was just upheld by the Wisconsin Court of Appeals a few weeks ago.
Seattle, as PubliCola first reported last month, could soon consider a law similar to Milwaukee's that would require businesses to provide between five and nine days' paid sick or family leave, depending on the size of the business; the proposal, which hasn't been formally introduced, was the subject of this week's ThinkTank.
The bill, which Walker has said would promote jobs, would prohibit any city from enacting a mandatory paid sick leave ordinance.
