City mandatory sick pay ordinance (leases, employment, wages)

[I_Like_Spam]

Originally Posted by Moby Hick

That's entirely the Republicans fault. They're not contesting in the city on purpose. I don't see how else you explain having a candidate for mayor who moves out of the United States during the period after winning the primary and before the general election. They want city voters to have as little reason as possible to go to the general election so city voters have less influence on county-wide elections.

County wide elections are held in different years than city elections.


In the last election, Mr. Wander had no chance of winning and knew it before he put his name in- presumably a vanity run.


The last time the GOP put a lot of money in a City of Pittsburgh campaign was 1969, John Tabor lost by a 2 to 1 margin. Little point in contributing to someone with little chance of victory. I can't think of a single Republican that could have successfully challenged Mr. Peduto, or Mr. Ravenstahl, Mr. Murphy, or Mrs. Masloff for that matter.

[SuburbanPioneer]

I do get paid time off. No paid sick leave though. Yet I'm perfectly fine with that. In fact, going from employer to employer I keep accumulating the time and then cashing out every time I change jobs. I work hard, but I don't feel overworked or in need of elaborate PTO benefits.

I work and I get compensated for what I do. Monetary compensation is all what I expect in exchange. Nothing more and nothing less. I am fully capable of managing my own time off and paying for it if necessary. PTO/insurance/etc is a set of benefits that are being forced on me as part of my compensation package. I would rather just get it all in cash and manage my own benefits.

I work and what I do makes a difference and keeps things rolling in the right direction. None of this happens when I'm off. When I'm off, I'm not advancing the economy either. In fact when I am off, I'm advancing the economy of some island nation instead while sipping a drink on the beach.

[tyovan4]

Originally Posted by I_Like_Spam

How would this affect an employer like Atlas Industries in East Carnegie- that straddles the Pittsburgh/Scott border? Would employees earn sick time if they were working in the shipping department in Pittsburgh, but not when they were in the employee bathroom in Scott?

Do the municipal boundaries really cut through their building??
If so, really fascinating question that you posed.

Originally Posted by I_Like_Spam

It can be remembered at election time, but we haven't had a truly contested City of Pittsburgh election since 1977 when independent Richard Caliguiri beat Democrat Thomas Foerster for mayor. The politicians are pretty invincible, the best the public can do is to try to talk a little sense to them.

I didn't know Claiguiri was an independent.
This is off topic - but how did he manage to overcome the Democratic machine that's here?

Originally Posted by UKyank

Everything I've read on the matter says the law has no chance of being upheld if challenged & the city will have to spend money that it doesn't have on legal fees.

Yet another example of our council being populated by people lacking education and/or experience.

The law's author has never had a real job, and has gotten the job's that he's had based on who his Daddy was. And this sort of grandstanding is the result. The lawyers advised Council that the law is over-reaching, and you're right that the City will have to spend money that it doesn't have on legal fees.

Originally Posted by UKyank

It's mainly disheartening that the majority of the council wouldn't be hired by the city based on their resume but are tasked in making important city decisions because elections in most parts of the city are a running joke.

x2

Originally Posted by charisb

I don't think it is quite that simple. Norway, Germany, and the UK have unemployment rates of about 5%, for example.

I think Germany has quite a lot of temporary workers on short-term contracts and also part-time workers.
British economy is booming, and that has been happening under Tory governance - which has been fairly dramatically cutting social spending and laying off government workers. They're in the midst of some pretty tough austerity measures, their military for example is being absolutely gutted.
Not sure what's going on in Norway - though I'm sure their sovereign wealth fund doesn't hurt their economy!

Originally Posted by Moby Hick

That's entirely the Republicans fault. They're not contesting in the city on purpose. I don't see how else you explain having a candidate for mayor who moves out of the United States during the period after winning the primary and before the general election. They want city voters to have as little reason as possible to go to the general election so city voters have less influence on county-wide elections.

There doesn't seem to be a Republican Party in the County at all.
It was an idiot move for Wander to choose to make aliyah in the middle of the campaign - his reasons were offensive as well (I want to be mayor here, but I don't feel safe as a Jew... right, since Squirrel Hill was such a hotbed of anti-Semitism and it was safer to be under Qassam rocket fire than to live among Pittsburghers).
Even in Fitz's upcoming re-election, the Republicans could not find a single candidate to run against him.
So I don't see a grandiose scheme by the Republican Party to deter city participation in elections in order to secure County race wins, as the Republican Party is ineffective in even fielding candidates for County races - the Party is basically non-existent.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by SuburbanPioneer

I do get paid time off. No paid sick leave though. Yet I'm perfectly fine with that. In fact, going from employer to employer I keep accumulating the time and then cashing out every time I change jobs. I work hard, but I don't feel overworked or in need of elaborate PTO benefits.

I work and I get compensated for what I do. Monetary compensation is all what I expect in exchange. Nothing more and nothing less. I am fully capable of managing my own time off and paying for it if necessary. PTO/insurance/etc is a set of benefits that are being forced on me as part of my compensation package. I would rather just get it all in cash and manage my own benefits.

I work and what I do makes a difference and keeps things rolling in the right direction. None of this happens when I'm off.

That's all fine and good for you. I personally work for an employer where I haven't historically had sick time, but there's the understanding that as a professional you can take the time you need for personal business so long as the work gets done. Meaning no one has ever tracked my sick time, and I've never been penalized for it. Indeed, I've been told that whenever I feel under the weather, I should stay home and avoid getting other people sick.

That's me though, that's not everyone. My wife works at a firm where she feels constantly overworked. They offer a minimal amount of sick/personal days, which she usually exhausts dealing with sick children before the end of the year, requiring her to take vacation time for things like kids doctor's visits. She also routinely goes to work sick because she feels like she has a major deadline she can't meet, and has been so sick at work before that her bosses have told her to go home because her coughing was distracting other people in the open office.

[I_Like_Spam]

Originally Posted by eschaton

There are solid business reasons for paid sick days which apply across the political spectrum. Presenteeism is a thing, and really results in lost productivity when workers show up with diminished capacity to work and infect others.

Interesting concept, seems to be the opposite side of the "Americans with Disability Act" coin.


I don't know everything about this, but are employers allowed to send sick employees home without violating the ADA under the mandatory sick leave ordinance? Some employees might come to work sick anyhow to save their limited sick days for another time.

[tyovan4]

Originally Posted by I_Like_Spam

I can't think of a single Republican that could have successfully challenged Mr. Peduto...

Saw your post after I posted mine.

Peduto can be rather divisive. Do you see anyone being able to challenge him politically when he is up for re-election?

Just curious, thanks.

[Moby Hick]

Originally Posted by I_Like_Spam

County wide elections are held in different years than city elections.

I phrased that wrong. The county executive and mayor are on different schedules, but there are city council elections in years with county-wide elections.

Originally Posted by I_Like_Spam

In the last election, Mr. Wander had no chance of winning and knew it before he put his name in- presumably a vanity run.

That doesn't even deserve the smaller insult of saying he did it for "vanity." It was a"build the personal brand" run. Because he has a TV show to promote, just like Trump.

Originally Posted by I_Like_Spam

The last time the GOP put a lot of money in a City of Pittsburgh campaign was 1969, John Tabor lost by a 2 to 1 margin. Little point in contributing to someone with little chance of victory. I can't think of a single Republican that could have successfully challenged Mr. Peduto, or Mr. Ravenstahl, Mr. Murphy, or Mrs. Masloff for that matter.

That's exactly my point about them not even trying. Of course you can't just find a guy and run and get mayor (baring special circumstances). You actually have to find people willing to try for lesser offices and build a name.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by I_Like_Spam

Interesting concept, seems to be the opposite side of the "Americans with

I don't know everything about this, but are employers allowed to send sick employees home without violating the ADA under the mandatory sick leave ordinance? Some employees might come to work sick anyhow to save their limited sick days for another time.

Having an infections disease is typically not seen as a disability. I guess HIV might have been seen as such 20 years ago, but these days since viral load can be managed by medication I don't think it would qualify.

It's also been established under case law you do not have a disability if the only thing your condition interferes with is your ability to do a particular job. If you can undergo all other basic life functions without needing assistance, you're not disabled.

I don't know anything about the sick leave law passed by City Council, but I would presume that it leaves discretion about the use of sick days up to the employee.

[I_Like_Spam]

Originally Posted by tyovan4

Do the municipal boundaries really cut through their building??
If so, really fascinating question that you posed.


.

The city lines run through the property, I don't think they run directly through the building in this case.


But it isn't unheard of for the lines to cut straight through a building. The Bethel/ USC line runs straight through the Sears store in SHV.

[SuburbanPioneer]

Originally Posted by eschaton

That's all fine and good for you.

Yet, that's very important. At least to me

I personally work for an employer where I haven't historically had sick time, but there's the understanding that as a professional you can take the time you need for personal business so long as the work gets done. Meaning no one has ever tracked my sick time, and I've never been penalized for it. Indeed, I've been told that whenever I feel under the weather, I should stay home and avoid getting other people sick.

That's me though, that's not everyone. My wife works at a firm where she feels constantly overworked. They offer a minimal amount of sick/personal days, which she usually exhausts dealing with sick children before the end of the year, requiring her to take vacation time for things like kids doctor's visits. She also routinely goes to work sick because she feels like she has a major deadline she can't meet, and has been so sick at work before that her bosses have told her to go home because her coughing was distracting other people in the open office.

I certainly agree that issues exist with many employers. And while I do get to work sick occasionally because things need to get done, I personally try to avoid working for businesses where I feel that I'm being taken advantage of. The one benefit that I really truly appreciate is that I'm not being forced to work for anything or anyone.