Deadline looms for Seattle sick leave changes
SEATTLE -- At the Macy's store in Northgate, bra fitter Louisa Swenson has spent years getting to know her customers; measuring them, providing guidance, and offering expert advice.
The dressing rooms and close quarters she works in, however, often provide a dilemma for this career retail worker.
"There's a lot of close contact that you have with people," she said, "and so it's going to be nice that I won't have to come and be sneezing and coughing and trying to help them and making sure I'm not spreading my germs to them in this close fitting room together."
Swenson, of Mountlake Terrace, said she cheered Seattle's decision to mandate companies provide paid sick time to their employees.
Under the change, which takes effect Saturday, businesses with more than four full-time equivalent employees must offer their workers at least five paid sick days a year. Companies must also offer paid "safe time" to allow workers to care for a family member or for reasons related to domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking.
The change hasn't been easy on some businesses, and many are trying to adjust before the new ordinance becomes law on Saturday. As a result, the city has been offering free workshops to the public, including on Tuesday night in West Seattle.
"There (were) lots of questions about how it was going to affect us," said Michael Goldsmith, a manager with Elliott Bay Brewing Company in West Seattle.
Goldsmith was one of about three dozen in attendance at the Tuesday night workshop, and said the shift impacts everything from accounting to human resources.
"(The owners of the company) are supportive of people being well and people coming to work and being safe," Goldsmith said, "but it is one more thing we have to track."
Opponents of the new ordinance have expressed concern about added expenses to small businesses. Swenson, however, argues that the long-term benefits outweigh everything else.
"It just seems like a no-brainer," she said. "You don't want your people coming to work sick. You don't want them spreading it to the other employees."
Information about the new ordinance can be found here. Another free workshop is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon at 3 pm at the Century Ballroom on Capitol Hill.
Surprise: The loop holes are big enough to drive a Mack truck through. For low wage earners, just fire them after 24 months. For "contact" (temporary) employees, just keep the term under 24 months (MS has this at one year anyway). For people that get "good" pay rates, your company doesn't need to worry about it anyway. For the most part, this is a 'non-issue'.....
@Bomarc - 24 months has nothing to do with it. Try six months.
@seattle acct From http://www.seattle.gov/civilrights/documents/pdfFAQPSL122111.pdf
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From the FAQ; Item # C 3:Â
Q: When can employees start using paid sick/safe leave?
A: Employees of new employers (Tier One and Tier Two) can use accrued paid sick/safe leave as described above, but only after 24 months from the hire date of the first employee.Â
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Â(All they need to do is fire the 'current' employees in 180 days)
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I think this is well intentioned -- over stressed and sick employees don't make for a healthy or productive workplace. I just hope the incurred cost for businesses doesn't cost a lot of people their jobs or push businesses out of the city. Government getting involved rarely works out the way it was intended to.
I fully expect your outrage, but I side with workers on this one. Making it on minimum/low wages is very difficult, and having no benefits means you work sick and spread illness. Surely there is a way to provide a little sick time without crippling the business. There are other issues costing business owners more than a couple of days sick pay for people who keep the business running.
 @two loons Really? Im sorry but the biggest cost to an employer is the employee.
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Try and start a business. If someone is paid $25000/year, with basic coverage the cost to the employer is really closer to $30-32000/year. Now you have to add to the cost of that with this mandatory sick leave? Yah, it's great doing business in Seattle.
 @WhatsonTapps  @two loons That's often the case, but I've had a few where I'd make my employer anywhere from one to eight hundred bucks an hour per buck received, with one biggie that paid Dick Cheney about 10,000 to 1. I've never filed for unemployment, and never filed an insurance claim against an employer.  The single biggest killer for a new business startup is NOT their employees, but their own lack of a comprehensive business plan that accurately anticipates costs, overages, liabilities, and unknown things that are guaranteed to happen. That's why the SBA has my fact as the number one small business killer in under 5 years, 95% failure rate. This is why the SBA WILL COACH new entrepreneurs in accurate business planning for their fields, free of charge.
@WhatsonTapps @two loons Exactly who makes the employer money? Treating them fairly needs to be a priority. Sorry some are too cheap to do business here.
I worked at a apparel production company that was located in the SODO area and this was one of the stated reasons for moving the entire operation to Kentucky. 25 $12-$16 per hour jobs GONE. Â
 @Arctic Dodge And it will only get worse if Jay Inslee is elected governor. I expect several well financed companies to challenge this law in federal court and for them to win.
Seattle is a beautiful city, probably one of the best in the country, but just like with anything that looks too good to be true she holds a secret. Seattle is a killer, a job killer.Â
@Kodiak Doesn't seem to hurt employers like Boeing and Microsoft. Cheapskate.
 @Kodiak Don't worry, we'll just up the parking rates, and increase the hours on meters so the city has more money to help struggling businesses bring in more customers.