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Paid Vacations to Be Required for Private Sector Workers, Mayor Says Paid Vacation to Be Required for Private Sector Workers, Mayor Says
(about 2 hours later)
[What you need to know to start the day: Get New York Today in your inbox.] Mayor Bill de Blasio pledged on Wednesday to make New York the first city in the nation to require private employers to provide at least two weeks of paid vacation to all employees.
Mayor Bill de Blasio pledged on Wednesday to introduce legislation that would require private employers in New York City to provide at least two weeks of paid vacation to all employees. The proposal, if passed by the City Council, would make New York the first city in the country with such a law. The proposal, which requires City Council approval, comes a day after Mr. de Blasio announced a $100 million effort to help ensure that the city’s health care resources are used by the uninsured, including undocumented immigrants — a move that immediately set up a contrast with Republican leadership in Washington.
The proposal comes a day after Mr. de Blasio announced a $100 million plan to expand health care to the uninsured, including undocumented immigrants, a move that immediately set up a contrast with Republican leadership in Washington. Mr. de Blasio appeared eager to billboard that contrast with both announcements, leading to speculation among political consultants in New York City that his larger aim leading up to his State of the City address on Thursday is to thrust his name back into the national conversation as a leader of progressive Democratic principles.
Mr. de Blasio appeared eager to billboard that contrast with both announcements, leading to immediate speculation among political consultants in New York City that his larger aim leading up to his State of the City address on Thursday is to thrust his name back into the national conversation as a leader of progressive Democratic principles. Mr. de Blasio did nothing to alter that impression during a news conference in City Hall, in which he presented his paid time off plan as a link in the long history of workers’ rights initiatives going back to the New Deal. He said that he would travel the country “very soon” to encourage other cities and states to follow suit.
He revealed the health care plan in a national television interview on MSNBC; he announced the paid vacation plan, which could benefit about half a million workers who currently go without paid time off, according to city officials, in The Washington Post. “I’m focused on New York City, but I know what we do here could have a huge impact on the rest of the country,” Mr. de Blasio said. “I’m going to go out and talk about the things we’re doing here and the impact that they can make. I’m going to push other leaders to take on these ideas. I’m certainly going to push my party to support these kind of ideas.”
From almost the moment he became mayor, Mr. de Blasio has looked to extend his political reach beyond New York City, though his efforts have not always succeeded.
Now in the second year of his second term, the mayor seemed to be renewing those efforts in earnest. He revealed the health care plan in a national television interview on MSNBC; he announced the paid vacation plan, which city officials say could benefit about half a million workers, in The Washington Post.
But while the promise on health care largely amounted to improving customer service for coverage that has existed for decades, the paid-vacation measure would be genuinely new. No state or city in the United States has such a requirement, according to City Hall, though Puerto Rico does guarantee paid time off.But while the promise on health care largely amounted to improving customer service for coverage that has existed for decades, the paid-vacation measure would be genuinely new. No state or city in the United States has such a requirement, according to City Hall, though Puerto Rico does guarantee paid time off.
The bill, as described by City Hall officials who did not share its text, would be modeled on the city’s paid sick law and would likely apply to the same pool of roughly 3.4 million working New Yorkers. Businesses with fewer than five employees would be exempt. The mayor presented a list of mostly European countries that he said currently require paid time off for workers.
Using data from the census and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the city estimated that the law would affect some 500,000 workers, mostly in non-unionized hotels, retail and big-box stores. Most white-collar workers already get some form of paid vacation, and unionized workers usually receive it as part of their contract. “We’re the exception — and it’s a bad exception,” he said of the United States.
City Hall officials said they discussed the measure with economists but did not broach the proposal with business leaders. Reaction was swift. The bill, as described by City Hall officials who did not share its text, would largely mirror one introduced in 2014 by Councilman Jumaane Williams of Brooklyn. The approach is modeled on the city’s paid sick law and would likely apply to the same pool of roughly 3.4 million working New Yorkers. Businesses with fewer than five employees would be exempt.
“Time off — we often treat it as a luxury: it is not,” said Mr. Williams, a candidate for public advocate and frequent critic of Mr. de Blasio who appeared with him at the news conference. “You cannot lead a healthy life if you do not have time off.”
Using data from the census and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the city estimated that the law would affect some 500,000 workers, mostly in non-unionized hotels, retail, restaurants and big-box stores. Most white-collar workers already get some form of paid vacation, and unionized workers usually receive it as part of their contract.
City Hall officials said they discussed the measure with economists but did not broach it with business leaders. Reaction was swift.
“The New York business community got no heads up on this ‘national first’ announcement, so apparently we are not the audience being addressed, although local entrepreneurs will certainly be the victims,” said Kathryn Wylde of the Partnership for New York City, an influential business group. “Employers in New York are competing for talent and doing whatever they can to keep good workers. They don’t need the mayor dictating what constitutes good behavior.”“The New York business community got no heads up on this ‘national first’ announcement, so apparently we are not the audience being addressed, although local entrepreneurs will certainly be the victims,” said Kathryn Wylde of the Partnership for New York City, an influential business group. “Employers in New York are competing for talent and doing whatever they can to keep good workers. They don’t need the mayor dictating what constitutes good behavior.”
It was not clear whether the measure would find resistance at the Democrat-dominated City Council. Its speaker, Corey Johnson, has been an enthusiastic backer of progressive policies, including half-priced MetroCards for low-income New Yorkers. James Parrott, director of economic and fiscal policies at the Center for New York City Affairs at the New School, said that businesses that have already had to adjust to the state’s $15 minimum wage and the city’s paid sick-leave law might struggle to provide paid vacation, too.
The mayor did not consult with the Council as he shaped his plan, according to one person familiar with the discussion; he called Mr. Johnson on Tuesday evening to tell him he would be making it. “As labor costs have increased over the last five years, businesses may have increased efficiency by taking the low-hanging fruit,” Mr. Parrott said. “It’s a fair question of whether there are more ways to increase efficiency.”
The mayor did not consult with the City Council as he shaped his plan, according to one person familiar with the discussion; he called the speaker, Corey Johnson, Tuesday evening to tell him he would be announcing it the following morning.
But the measure did not appear likely to meet resistance at the Democrat-dominated City Council. Mr. Johnson has been an enthusiastic backer of progressive policies, including half-priced MetroCards for low-income New Yorkers.
“It is important that workers in our city have personal paid time off, and I am looking forward to reviewing Mayor de Blasio’s proposal as it goes through the legislative process,” Mr. Johnson said in a statement.