The North San Antonio Chamber along with area Business Coalition leaders have called on City Council to repeal San Antonio's Paid Sick Leave Ordinance, stating in a letter Thursday that it was unconstitutional.
In part of a letter addressed to city officials, numerous area leaders said :
Multiple authorities have opined that a paid sick leave ordinance violates Texas law. On July 9, 2018, you received a letter from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton stating that the City was preempted from enacting a paid sick leave ordinance. On August 6, 2018, you received a letter from State Senator Donna Campbell, who also noted that the proposed ordinance was unlawful. Despite these warnings, the City Council adopted the PSL Ordinance on August 16, 2018.
The Paid Sick Leave Ordinance was adopted by the city on August 16, 2018, despite Attorney General Ken Paxton’s cautioning city leaders about Texas law that preempts municipalities from enacting ordinances requiring employers to provide paid sick leave.
At the time, City Attorney Andrew Segovia released a statement, indicating that city leaders would consider the letter in their decision, but that it did not legally bind them to make a decision in accordance with the Attorney General.
Area leaders further noted in the letter that earlier this year, the City of Austin adopted a Paid Sick Leave Ordinance nearly identical to San Antonio’s Paid Sick Leave Ordinance. On November 16, the Third Court of Appeals held that Austin’s Paid Sick Leave Ordinance is unconstitutional.
The statements made Thursday go hand in hand with another letter penned on November 30 by the Business Coalition that stated the acquisition of an ad hoc committee to analyze the plan was unnecessary since the plan was already deemed unconstitutional.
Mayor Nirenberg released his own statement Thursday, expressing that despite the call from area leaders, the city would move forward with the ad hoc committee, and continue with the process.
Read the full statement from the mayor below:
San Antonio's paid sick leave ordinance was brought forward by petition, and supporters gathered more than 140,000 signatures. City Council faced the choice of passing the ordinance or putting it on the ballot. The council's action preserved the flexibility to craft a San Antonio-specific policy before any business is required to comply. Last month, I named an ad hoc committee on paid sick leave to gather input from all stakeholders, including the business community, and make recommendations to the City Council. We will continue with that process to develop a plan that is right for San Antonio if lawmakers and the courts leave municipal paid sick leave ordinances in effect next year."