March 21, 2014
By Alan Schulkin, City Hall Reporter
New York, NY — Signing his first bill into law as Mayor, the Mayor on March 21st approved sweeping paid sick leave legislation, extending the right to paid sick leave to half a million more New Yorkers. The law is one of several reforms aimed at raising the wage and benefit floor for workers.
“From Day One of this administration, we’ve made it our mission to lift up working families and raise the wage and benefit floor for all New Yorkers. This law is the first of many steps we are taking to fundamentally address inequality in this city, and make this a city where everyone rises together," said Mayor Bill de Blasio . “I want to thank City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito for her extraordinary leadership in fighting to ensure that half a million more New Yorkers get paid sick leave coverage, all the City Council members who co-sponsored the bill, and every advocate who stood by us and worked tirelessly to make this a reality." Working families can now rest assured that in this city, they will not have to choose between taking a sick day and earning a paycheck," concluded Mayor de Blasio.
The law will take effect on April 1 and apply to all workers at businesses with five or more employees, encompassing those excluded under the previous legislation that applied to businesses with 15 or more workers. New York City now joins jurisdictions like Connecticut, San Francisco, Seattle, Portland, Washington, D.C., and other cities across the country offering its workers paid sick leave benefits.
