City Council May Override Bloomberg's Veto of Paid Sick Leave Bill
City Council May Override Bloomberg's Veto of Paid Sick Leave Bill
The New York City Council is voting Wednesday night on whether they're going to override Mayor Bloomberg's veto of the paid sick leave bill.
New Yorkers may soon have the right to five paid sick days a year. That's if the City Council votes to override Mayor Bloomberg's veto of the paid sick leave bill.
Under the bill, employers would be required to offer paid sick leave to their workers beginning in April 2014.
Opponents of the bill say some businesses can't afford the sick days. But, Donna Dolan, chair of the New York Paid Sick Leave Coalition says several small business owners agree that this legislation is necessary.
"A sick worker won't be coming to work and infecting other workers in the workplace and making them sick," she says.
Dolan says some of their biggest supporters have been the school nurses and teachers. "Right now parents in New York City are forced to send their kids to school sick because they can't afford to jeopardize their job or lose a day's pay by staying home with a sick child."
Councilwoman Gale Brewer is also a supporter of the legislation. She and other council members joined the New York Paid Leave Coalition today as they rallied on the steps of City Hall.
The City Council is voting at 9p.m. Wednesday.
The bill was introduced in August 2009. City Council speaker Christine Quinn agreed to negotiate the final terms of the bill in March 2013. The City Council passed the legislation with a 45 to 3 majority on May 8th.
Donna Dolan, the New York Paid Leave Coalition, and other supporters are confident the City Council will vote to override the veto. But, Dolan says if Mayor Bloomberg's veto is overridden, he could go to court to prevent the bill from being implemented.
