DALLAS (WBAP/KLIF News) — The Dallas City Council is expected to stay out of the push to create mandatory paid sick leave for low wage workers and let voters decide — assuming it gets to that point.
Councilman Phil Kingston spoke to WFAA’s “Inside Texas Politics” and said he does not expect the city council to try and push an ordinance before the measure potentially comes up on the November ballot.
“It helps train people in democracy. and I don’t think the city council is going to want to take that opportunity away from the voters,” Kingston said. “Plus, it’s a demonstration of how popular this benefit is.”
The advocacy group Workers Defense Project says they’ve gathered more than double the number of signatures from registered voters to get the measure on the November ballot. The measure would give all employees one hour of sick leave for every 30 hours worked, which adds up to between six and eight sick days a year, depending on the size of the employer.
If it does end up on Dallas ballots, businesses are expected to push back, given that they will be required to shoulder the cost of paying for sick leave. Kingston, however, says it’s a necessary burden businesses should have to bear.
“If your business can’t sustain itself by providing this very simple benefit to the poorest workers of our society, you really shouldn’t be in business,” he said.
