Co-Sponsorship Memo Details

In the near future we plan to reintroduce Senate Bill 13, known as the “Healthy Employee/Healthy Workplace Act,” which would require every employer in this Commonwealth to provide paid sick leave to employees.

The COVID-19 pandemic has amplified the need for a uniformed paid leave policy in the Commonwealth.  Congress, as part of the bipartisan CARES Act, included temporary paid leave for employees throughout the United States.  With these provisions expiring, it is past time for the Commonwealth to enact a comprehensive paid leave policy that will provide individuals, families and employers peace of mind in these trying times.
 
Over the past several years, paid sick leave has gained attention as numerous cities across the United States, including Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, have enacted ordinances mandating paid sick leave. Since 2011 when Connecticut became the first state to require paid sick leave, thirteen states and the District of Columbia have enacted paid sick leave laws.
 
Pennsylvania should join those thirteen other states in promoting healthy employees, healthy workplaces, and healthy families by enacting a paid sick leave law.

Our proposal is modeled after California’s Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014.  A uniform, statewide paid leave policy that focuses on our employees and recognizes the interests and concerns of employers should be our guiding light in consideration of a statewide paid leave policy.
 
We hope you will join us in co-sponsoring this important piece of legislation.
 
If you have any questions, please contact Michael Deery in Senator Hughes’ office at 717-787-7112 or Michael.Deery@pasenate.com or Sonia Kikeri in Senator Muth’s office at 717-787-1398.