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Florida Governor signs bill banning local govs making paid sick leave mandatory

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T

TacticalFox88

Banned
Florida Gov. Rick Scott signed a bill Friday that would block local governments from enacting mandatory paid-sick-time measures, such as the one pending in Orange County.

The Republican governor sided with Walt Disney World, Darden Restaurants, the Florida Chamber of Commerce and a broad array of powerful business interests that argued the ban was needed to avoid a patchwork of local employment rules for companies.

"This bill fosters statewide uniformity, consistency and predictability in Florida's employer-employee relationships," Scott said in a statement. "These fundamental elements are essential to ensuring a business-friendly environment that supports job creation."

Labor and progressive groups have made recent pushes for mandatory paid sick time in Orange and Miami-Dade counties to help out lower-paid workers who don't often get that benefit. Businesses mostly opposed to the idea say it overreaches into a company's affairs and should be left to the market.

The governor made the decision in rapid fashion. Scott's office took only four of the 15 days he had to legally review the bill before signing it — which supporters said showed he wasn't concerned about potential political blow back from activists who called the measure an attack on the working class and women.

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"He believes that it's important to our recovering economy and increasing jobs that he affirm the importance of this legislation," said the bill's Senate sponsor, David Simmons, R-Altamonte Springs. "We simply do not need an inconsistent patchwork of regulation from one city to the next or one county to the next."

Scott rejected calls by progressives and South Florida leaders for him to veto it. With other parts of the country, such as New York City, San Francisco and Seattle, passing similar sick-time measures, it's an issue that now has a national scope.

In Florida, it could be used by Democrats as a political weapon next year. U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Weston, chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, asked for a veto this week, noting the bill hit women hardest because they are more often unable to call in sick or care for ill children.

"The fight for earned sick time will continue," said Stephanie Porta of Organize Now in a statement. "Floridians believe in earned sick time for hardworking families, and we don't give up when we believe in something."

Organize Now had led the coalition of groups that backed the 2012 ballot referendum in Orange County. They teamed with Democrats, Hispanics and others to collect more than 50,000 petition signatures from voters to get it on the local ballot.

But after intense lobbying by Disney, Darden, Mears Transportation and other potent tourism interests, Orange commissioners on Sept. 11 voted 4-3 to keep it off the ballot. The groups behind it sued, and a judicial panel later ruled county leaders violated their charter by blocking it.

The three-judge circuit panel ordered it on the next ballot. Commissioners soon after voted to send it to Orange voters in the August 2014 primary contest.

But those who opposed the measure from the beginning had discussed such a delay-and-kill plan.

On the eve of the Orange County Sept. 11 vote, local GOP leader Lew Oliver texted a commissioner that the board only needed to delay the proposal long enough for the Legislature to deliver a "kill shot."

The communications between commissioners and lobbyists triggered a criminal investigation and civil lawsuit over alleged open-record-law violations. They are both still pending.

But Scott likely pulled the trigger on a final "kill shot" by signing the bill Friday.

The bill the governor signed was sponsored by House Majority Leader Steve Precourt, D-Orlando, and Simmons. Precourt had pushed for legislation that would have rolled back other local measures, namely by targeting local living-wage ordinances on the books to require government projects pay higher wages in Orlando and some South Florida communities. Simmons only targeted local paid-sick-time rules.

The final bill that Scott signed includes a provision for a task force that would look at benefits and a possible statewide mandate for sick leave.

The proposal pushed in Orange would have — were it approved — required employers to provide paid time off to workers who are ill or caring for a sick family member.

Both full- and part-time employees would earn one hour of sick time for every 37 hours they work, to a maximum of 56 hours annually. Employers with fewer than 15 workers would not have to provide sick pay but could not penalize workers who took unpaid time off for being sick.
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http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news...l-paid-sick-time-ban-20130614,0,6200216.story

I...um...

No words.
 
G

gutter_trash

Banned
r0AYH.gif
 
S

Somnid

Member
I would agree that they need to solve this at a state level. The problem being I'm not so sure they will actually solve this at a state level.
 
L

LuchaShaq

Banned
At this point I wouldn't look down on Floridians if they took the Gov Scott by force with an angry mob and hung him for treason.
 
Amory

Amory

Member
Your title is crazy misleading. He didn't ban paid sick leave. He blocked mandatory paid sick leave. Still bad, though.
 
A

Anoregon

The flight plan I just filed with the agency list me, my men, Dr. Pavel here. But only one of you!
"These fundamental elements are essential to ensuring a business-friendly environment that supports job creation."
Click to expand...


Man that is some fucking star-quality politician doublespeak.
 
S

Somnid

Member
Amory said:
Your title is crazy misleading. He didn't ban paid sick leave. He blocked mandatory paid sick leave. Still bad, though.
Click to expand...

Correction, it seem that he blocked local governments from being able to enact them because they are afraid that it will become unnecessarily complex and bad for businesses (fair enough, you don't want labor laws to vary by city). The question is if they will actually enact state-wide legislation which seems dubious.
 
L

LuchaShaq

Banned
ElectricBlue187 said:
Why does it have to be sick leave and not PTO? Mandatory sick leave does seem like an overreach
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Mandatory sick leave is less to be nice to sick people, it is to protect other workers and customers from becoming sick as well.

I handle cash/cards of 2-3 hundred people a day at one of my jobs

If I come into work with a nasty flu I could get a shit ton sick.

It's common sense.
 
P

Pyrokai

Member
The cities that are being called responsible make little sense to me. WhT the hell?

It amazes me this is an issue today. Absolutely crazy.
 
D

Darklord

Banned
This is why America needs unions. The rights you have as workers are a joke. No paid sick leave, shit wages, can be fired at any time for any reason, no required holidays. Most countries would be rioting if they took that away.
 
A

Ace Harding

Member
That seemed bad until the last paragraph. So basically this only applies to small companies? You can't be penalized for taking unpaid leave but you can't have paid sick days?

Is there anything banning combined PTO (vacation, sick, etc treated the same, more flexible)?

Edit: der, that's the OC legislation. Reading fail there.
 
C

CrankyJay

Banned
Amory said:
Your title is crazy misleading. He didn't ban paid sick leave. He blocked mandatory paid sick leave. Still bad, though.
Click to expand...

It's not that bad...part time employees shouldn't be getting paid sick leave. You get another part timer to cover for you.

56 hours is 7 days. That's damn generous. I get 5 a year.

It would help to know what the current law is before really shitting on it.
 
D

Dead Man

Member
LuchaShaq said:
Mandatory sick leave is less to be nice to sick people, it is to protect other workers and customers from becoming sick as well.

I handle cash/cards of 2-3 hundred people a day at one of my jobs

If I come into work with a nasty flu I could get a shit ton sick.

It's common sense.
Click to expand...

Yep.

CrankyJay said:
It's not that bad...part time employees shouldn't be getting paid sick leave. You get another part timer to cover for you.

56 hours is 7 days. That's damn generous. I get 5 a year.

This is overblown.
Click to expand...

LOL, okay.
 
G

GoldenEye 007

Member
Dead Man said:
Are you? Only salaried employees get paid sick leave? If somebody is full time but not salaried they don't get it? Stupid system.
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I'm full-time and not salaried and I get all of the standard benefits. Vacation/Sick, etc.

Edit: Unless you were meaning his proposal.
 
C

CrankyJay

Banned
Dead Man said:
Are you? Only salaried employees get paid sick leave? If somebody is full time but not salaried they don't get it? Stupid system.
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Yes...and if I go over my sick days allotment it's up to the manager if they want me to make up the time I went over.

It's one thing if I get the flu and burn thru a week in one shot and then get sick a day or two the rest of the year...in that case my manager probably wouldn't require me to make up the work, but if I took 10 disjointed days he probably would.
 
L

LuchaShaq

Banned
CrankyJay said:
It's not that bad...part time employees shouldn't be getting paid sick leave. You get another part timer to cover for you.
.
Click to expand...

Here is a very common scenario.

So I'm sick as fuck, but need all 28 hours at my part time job to even get close to paying rent. Now remember I'm only getting 28 hours because my scumbag employer cut all full timers to 28 hours to avoid paying shit for healthcare costs.

So when I get the flu I'm coming to work, I don't get sick leave, and if I get someone to cover for me I might not make rent. So I come into work sick for a week and change straight (remember 28 hours no healthcare!), I get you/your elderly grandma who has a fucked immune system/your gf/your co worker all sick because I touched your credit card with my bacteria (from my explosive diarrhea) laden hands, and then you interacted with them spreading it around. Also some of my co workers are sick from me as well and spreading it to other friends/family/acquaintances of yours.


Yeah fuck paid sick time for part timers, enjoy your diarrhea asshole.
 
C

CrankyJay

Banned
LuchaShaq said:
Here is a very common scenario.

So I'm sick as fuck, but need all 28 hours at my part time job to even get close to paying rent. Now remember I'm only getting 28 hours because my scumbag employer cut all full timers to 28 hours to avoid paying shit for healthcare costs.

So when I get the flu I'm coming to work, I don't get sick leave, and if I get someone to cover for me I might not make rent. So I come into work sick for a week and change straight (remember 28 hours no healthcare!), I get you/your elderly grandma who has a fucked immune system/your gf/your co worker all sick because I touched your credit card with my bacteria (from my explosive diarrhea) laden hands, and then you interacted with them spreading it around. Also some of my co workers are sick from me as well and spreading it to other friends/family/acquaintances of yours.


Yeah fuck paid sick time for part timers, enjoy your diarrhea asshole.
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You never heard of swapping shifts with someone? You get back what you give out.
 
D

Dead Man

Member
CrankyJay said:
Yes...and if I go over my sick days allotment it's up to the manager if they want me to make up the time I went over.

It's one thing if I get the flu and burn thru a week in one shot and then get sick a day or two the rest of the year...in that case my manager probably wouldn't require me to make up the work, but if I took 10 disjointed days he probably would.
Click to expand...

Then fuck your boss and the company you work for. I get 2 weeks sick leave, 4 weeks personal leave, and I am part time.
 
C

CrankyJay

Banned
Dead Man said:
Then fuck your boss and the company you work for. I get 2 weeks sick leave, 4 weeks personal leave, and I am part time.
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Funny someone mentioned they feel sorry for Americans...

Yes, I'm American and I work in America, but my company is Canadian owned.
 
G

gcubed

Member
I don't get the attitude of "let's not make things better" or the pure reverence to corporations that people have. Swap shifts is a shitty solution to a problem that shouldn't exist.
 
P

pestul

Member
I'm a full time permanent worker and I get no paid sick time. But yes, I can easily swap shifts with someone if need be. I've found that I get sick a heck of a lot less than those with sick time.. wonder why that is.
 
Zoe

Zoe

Member
LuchaShaq said:
Mandatory sick leave is less to be nice to sick people, it is to protect other workers and customers from becoming sick as well.

I handle cash/cards of 2-3 hundred people a day at one of my jobs

If I come into work with a nasty flu I could get a shit ton sick.

It's common sense.
Click to expand...

That's not what "mandatory" is modifying. It's about making it mandatory for businesses to offer sick leave.

Some businesses prefer having a separate bucket for sick leave because then they can apply different rules such as requiring doctor's notes or being able to punish people who take sick leave but are shown partying on Facebook.
 
C

CrankyJay

Banned
gcubed said:
I don't get the attitude of "let's not make things better" or the pure reverence to corporations that people have. Swap shifts is a shitty solution to a problem that shouldn't exist.
Click to expand...

Then the price of goods and services goes up all over. For all the honest people you have that need this policy there are twice as many taking advantage and fucking it up for people.
 
D

Darklord

Banned
Vyroxis said:
If you need more than 5 sick days a year, might I suggest a change in lifestyle? Unless you have kids, thats a different story.
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I've only taken 3 sick days in the last year but it's crazy how Americans barely get any holidays or sick leave. What if you break a bone? Or fall seriously ill? Tough shit? That's sure as hell not going to heal in 5 days.
 
Zoe

Zoe

Member
Darklord said:
I've only taken 3 sick days in the last year but it's crazy how Americans barely get any holidays or sick leave. What if you break a bone? Or fall seriously ill? Tough shit? That's sure as hell not going to heal in 5 days.
Click to expand...

There are things in place that will protect you in cases of long-term leave such as FMLA.
 
L

LuchaShaq

Banned
Zoe said:
That's not what "mandatory" is modifying. It's about making it mandatory for businesses to offer sick leave.

Some businesses prefer having a separate bucket for sick leave because then they can apply different rules such as requiring doctor's notes .
Click to expand...

Exactly this sort of shit is insane.

Cut your hours from 40-28 so no healthcare.

Go spend 3 hours waiting at a free clinic (next to other sick people)

or

Pay out of pocket to have a dr spend 30 sec on you and say go home you're sick but not dying.

I feel so lucky that I don't work with a scumbag boss/management.
 
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