The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has upheld a 2015 City of Pittsburgh Ordinance requiring employers to provide paid sick leave to employees within the City of Pittsburgh.
The Ordinance provides that employees are to accrue one hour of paid sick time for every 35 hours worked, up to:
- 40 hours per year if their employer employs 15 or more people; or
- 24 hours per year if their employer employs fewer than 15 people.
Employees may use accrued sick time for absences due to the employee or the employee’s family members’ mental or physical illness, injury, or a medical appointment (including for preventative care). Employees who make use of sick time must be paid, at minimum, their same hourly rate and with the same benefits, including health care benefits. Employers are required to give their employees written notice that they are entitled to sick time and the amount of time to which the employees are entitled. Any employer who willfully violates the notice requirement is subject to penalties and fines. Employers are also obligated to maintain records of the hours worked, sick time accrued, and sick time taken by each employee.
There has been no indication of when the Ordinance will take effect, but employers should begin planning for paid sick leave now. If you have any questions about the paid sick leave requirements, please contact a member of our employment law team.
This post was written by Rachel Felton and Joseph Lewis.
