On October 3rd, the San Antonio City Council passed a revised sick leave ordinance, now called the “Sick and Safe Leave Ordinance.” The vote was 8-3, with Council members Clayton Perry, Manny Pelaez, and Rebecca Viagran voting “no.”
The City Council accepted all the changes that had been recommended by a sick leave commission, and on the motion of Council member Ana Sandoval added a new one, the inclusion of paid interns into the definition of “employee.” The Council rejected a proposed amendment by Councilman Perry that would have exempted employers having 49 employees or fewer.
Until November 13th, the City will be holding information sessions on the ordinance, which is supposed to go into effect December 1st, and the City will not penalize any violations occurring before April 1, 2020.
That is, if a state judge doesn’t keep the ordinance from going into effect. The lawsuit filed against the original version of the ordinance last summer is revving up once more, and a court hearing on the plaintiffs’ motion for an injunction against the ordinance is scheduled for November 7th.
Meanwhile, the Texas Supreme Court has not yet decided whether to hear the case against the City of Austin’s sick leave ordinance, but it has asked for briefs on the merits of the case, which suggest that it is seriously considering hearing the city’s request that it hear the case. The court’s decision whether to take the case will have a major impact one way or the other on San Antonio’s ordinance.