Chamber joins partners to oppose Austin’s Paid Sick Leave Ordinance

This week, the 3rd Court of Appeals in Austin heard oral arguments from attorneys representing the parties on the challenge to the City of Austin’s Paid Sick Leave Ordinance (PSL). Your Chamber joined other San Antonio Chambers of Commerce and business organizations on a trip to Austin to observe the arguments and meet with the attorneys challenging the Austin PSL. The purpose of the trip was to demonstrate that the San Antonio business community stands with the Austin business community and to communicate that this is a statewide issue. Eleven local chambers and business organizations filed an amicus brief in support of the challenge to the Austin PSL, citing the ordinance as “inconsistent with the Texas Minimum Wage Act”. The organizations participating in the amicus brief represent hundreds of businesses in San Antonio that would be affected by the San Antonio PSL, and in many cases, would be impacted directly or indirectly by the Austin PSL. The business groups are all members of the Business Coalition, and include:

• San Antonio Chamber of Commerce
• North San Antonio Chamber of Commerce
• Real Estate Council of San Antonio
• Associated Builders & Contractors – South Texas Chapter
• San Antonio Manufacturers Association
• Greater San Antonio Builders Association
• San Antonio Apartment Association
• NAWBO—San Antonio
• Alamo Asian American Chamber of Commerce
• South San Antonio Chamber of Commerce
• SA Auto Dealers

During the oral arguments on Wednesday, the Court of Appeals asked great questions of the parties. The City of Austin’s attorney argued that the PSL was not ripe for review, because it had not gone into effect. The justices sounded skeptical based on their questioning of the city’s attorney. The Texas Attorney General’s representative and the attorney representing various state business organizations, including the Texas Association of Business (TAB), argued the merits of the case, which include prohibition on Austin mandating wages in excess of the federal minimum wage, as well as the unequal treatment under the PSL of union and non-union companies. The Court of Appeals will consider the arguments and written briefs and issue an opinion on this case. The opinion should be issued before the end of 2018 and may be complete before Thanksgiving. The San Antonio business community became engaged after the San Antonio City Council passed an ordinance nearly identical to Austin’s. If the court rules that the City of Austin violated the law in adopting its PSL, San Antonio’s ordinance should similarly be illegal. Count on your Chamber to stay engaged and keep you up-to-date on this issue. For more information regarding the Paid Sick Leave Ordinance, please contact Stephanie Reyes, VP of Public Policy at sreyes@sachamber.org or 210-229-2162.