Paid Sick Leave

Correction: The city filed a brief in response to an injunction temporarily halting its sick pay ordinance. It has not yet appealed.

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The City of Austin said it plans to appeal a state court’s decision to put on hold the city’s paid sick leave ordinance, which was set to go into effect Oct. 1.

A state appeals court has put Austin's paid sick leave ordinance on hold.

The San Antonio City Council passed a new paid sick leave ordinance Thursday — but the local rule may well die either in the courts or on the floor of the state Legislature before it goes into effect next year.

Austin City Council members voted Thursday to ask the city manager to look into creating a new department to oversee its labor rights laws – including rules that guarantee rest breaks for construction workers and mandate paid sick leave for private employees.

An Austin-based conservative think tank has sued the city over its paid sick leave ordinance. The ordinance, which goes into effect Oct. 1, requires all private businesses to provide anywhere from six to eight paid sick days for employees.

After passing rules that require all private employers to offer workers six to eight paid sick days a year, the City of Austin has agreed to extend its own policy to all local government employees. Previously, temporary employees, like lifeguards and crossing guards, were not covered.