Putting denial, anger and depression momentarily aside, Milwaukee employers must accept the possibility of having to comply with the paid sick leave ordinance.
Last November, Milwaukee voters overwhelmingly passed a direct legislation referendum requiring employers to provide employees working within the geographic boundaries of the city with up to nine days of paid sick leave per year.
In response, the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce (MMAC) filed a lawsuit in Milwaukee County Circuit Court challenging the legality of the paid sick leave ordinance and requesting a temporary injunction to prohibit the city from enforcing the ordinance while the litigation is pending.
A motion to consider the temporary injunction is scheduled for Feb. 6, and it is unknown whether the court will issue a decision regarding the temporary injunction prior to the ordinance’s scheduled effective date of Feb. 10.
As if the economic consequences were not a sufficient burden on employers, to comply with the impending sick leave ordinance many employers must overhaul their past leave policies or diverge from the terms of their collective bargaining agreements.
Given that the ordinance requires accrual of paid sick leave at a rate of one hour for every 30 hours worked in the city, employers must also develop and administer time tracking systems.
And what about tracking time accrual for those employees who spend part of their workday in the city and part of their workday outside the city?
Compliance with the paid sick leave ordinance will not be easy, headaches are all but guaranteed.
With the uncertainty surrounding the MMAC’s proposed injunction and the complications involved with implementing and administering a new (and potentially unnecessary) leave policy, employers should consider adopting a transitional policy.
A transitional policy could preserve an employer’s right to count paid time off taken under its own policies as time that also counts against an employee’s entitlement to paid leave under the sick leave ordinance.
For example, an employer choosing to adopt a transitional policy might consider informing its employees that consistent with applicable law, currently available paid time off can also be taken as and will be counted against an employee’s entitlement to paid time off under the paid sick leave ordinance. The policy could further indicate that the company may amend its paid leave policies in the future to comply with court rulings or regulations related to the ordinance.
Such a transitional policy would allow an employer to retain its options while the MMAC lawsuit is pending as well as provide employees with fair notice as to how their paid time off may be counted under the employer’s policy and the ordinance.
Given the unique nature of every employer’s leave policies, a transitional policy must be carefully drafted so that it reconciles an employer’s business needs, potential legal risks, and requirements involving tracking and accrual of leave under the sick leave ordinance.
Attorney Pamela Ploor is a partner at Quarles & Brady LLP in Milwaukee.
