Pittsburgh Paid Sick Days Act

The City of Pittsburgh Paid Sick Days Act took effect on March 15, 2020.

The Act requires that all covered employees receive paid sick days from their employers. Starting March 15, 2020, if you are an employee who works in the City of Pittsburgh, for a covered employer, you can begin to acquire one hour of sick time per 35 hours worked in the City. If your employer has more than 15 employees, you can accrue up to 40hrs of paid sick time in a calendar year. If your employer has less than 15 employees, you can accrue up to 24 hours of unpaid sick time for the year 2020, and starting in March 2021, you can get up to 24 hours of paid sick time. You must request the sick time verbally, or in writing, at least one hour before the start of your shift. And if the sick time is foreseeable, your employer can ask for seven days advance notice. 

Importantly, an employer "may not transfer, demote, discharge, suspend, reduce hours, or directly threaten such actions against a Covered Employee who requests or uses accrued Sick Time..." The Act also prohibits an employer from requiring documentation for paid sick time that is less than three consecutive days, unless the paid sick time is in connection with FMLA leave. Employees are not required to explain the specific details or nature of employee's or employee's family member's medical condition. 

According to the Pittsburgh City Paper, "... about 40 percent of Pittsburgh's private-sector workers don't have access to paid sick time, including about 77 percent of service workers. " The new ordinance will help fix that problem and provide economic justice to employees. 

Check out the City's website and this article in the Pittsburgh City Paper for more information.