| At the Chamber’s July Board of Directors meeting, members of the Board and the Chamber staff had a lengthy, interactive, and productive discussion about the city’s mandated paid sick leave ordinance and the subsequent lawsuit filed against the city by a group of businesses and business organizations. While the City Attorney’s Office and the group of business plaintiffs struck a deal to give the city time to tweak the ordinance, members of the Board asked for a clear answer about where the Chamber stands on the issue.
Let me be clear, the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce does not oppose sick leave. However, we do oppose municipally mandated employee benefits and pay, and we strongly reaffirm the rights of private employers to determine the best and most efficient way to operate a successful business, while remaining competitive in attracting and retaining a talented workforce. We believe that statutory authority for wages, compensation, scheduling and leave should remain at the state and federal levels and attempts to regulate the benefits that employers offer their employees is local infringement on private employer rights.
This Chamber has been publicly advocating against the municipally mandated paid sick leave ordinance since its inception (see paid sick leave timeline), with actions that include developing a policy statement that was approved by our board on August 15, 2018, and vigorously advocating for a preemption bill during the 86th State Legislative Session. While we are not currently a named litigant on the lawsuit against the City of San Antonio, we are supportive of it and working with Ricardo Cedillo, who is representing the plaintiffs, and a coalition of organizations to fundraise to further the cause.
In addition, in partnership with the North San Antonio Chamber of Commerce and other business groups, we have filed an Amicus Brief appealing to the Texas Supreme Court regarding a similar case filed against the City of Austin. An opinion from the Third Court of Appeals in Austin declared that a municipality in Texas cannot adopt a paid sick leave ordinance without violating the Texas Minimum Wage Act. The City of Austin has appealed the Third Court's decision. Unless the Texas Supreme Court overturns the Third Court's ruling, the Austin ordinance is illegal; and, by extension, we believe the San Antonio ordinance would also be in violation of state law. The Texas Supreme Court has yet to decide whether it will hear the case, and we do not anticipate this will happen until the fall. Further, we are following the recent lawsuit against the city of Dallas to stop its paid sick leave ordinance.
In the meantime, your Chamber will continue to track this issue, support and monitor the lawsuit, and take action accordingly, while always keeping you, our members, informed.
The mission of this organization is to advocate for our members and the business community in building and sustaining a diverse and prosperous economy for San Antonio, and to that end, we will continue to be at the forefront of issues that impact our business community and employer rights.
Thank you!
Richard Perez
President & CEO |
