Seattle

Overview of Seattle’s Paid Sick Time Campaign

On September 12, 2011, the Seattle City Council voted 8-1 to pass an ordinance requiring employers to provide paid sick time.

Mayor Mike McGinn signed the bill into law on September 23, 2011.  For the 190,000 workers in Seattle who lack paid sick time, this is terrific news!  The Mayor signed the bill at Plum Bistro, one of the many small businesses that expressed support for the bill.

Click here to read a powerful article from Councilmember Godden, who co-sponsored the bill in the Seattle City Council. 

About Seattle's Paid Sick Time Law

A Better Balance provided legal assistance to the campaign in Seattle, and we are continuing to support similar efforts around the country.

The Seattle bill will allow workers in the city to accrue and use up to 5 days of paid sick time annually if they work for an employer with 5 to 49 full-time employees (or full-time equivalents).   Those who work for employers with 50 to 249 full-time employees can accrue and use up to 7 days of paid sick time a year.  Finally, those individuals who work for an employer with 250 or more full-time employees can accrue and use up to 9 days of paid sick time a year.  The law exempts employers with 4 or fewer employees.

Under the law, workers can use paid sick time to recover from their own illness or to care for sick family members.  The statute also allows time to be used for certain safety needs related to domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking and when an employee’s workplace or child’s school is closed by a public health official for public health reasons.

Seattle’s paid sick time law will take effect on September 1, 2012, and it will be enforced by the city’s Office for Civil Rights.  For the full text of the bill, click here.  

For More Information

For more information on the Seattle campaign for paid sick time, please visit the website of the Seattle Coalition for a Healthy Workforce.