Opponents say cities should be able to establish nonwage benefits.
Arizona Sick Leave Law Challenged in Court
Many small business owners breathed a sigh of relief when
Arizona passed a law earlier this year forbidding cities from
further regulating nonwage benefits such as sick leave.
That meant that a city could not require business owners to
offer paid sick leave to workers, leaving the decision up to those who know
their businesses best.
Now, however, the law is being challenged in a lawsuit filed by
state and local lawmakers and a union. The law had been scheduled to go into
effect Aug. 6.
“As Arizonans, we are entrusted to make thoughtful policy
choices that best represent the values and ideals of our residents,” a group of five city council members wrote in
the Arizona Republic. “It is why we, as public servants, cannot abide this
threat to local decision making and are taking our concerns to the courts.”
The sponsor of the bill, Rep. J.D. Mesnard, told the Arizona Capitol Times back in May that he knew
a lawsuit was likely.
“At the end of the day, as with anything, you can end up in
court,” Mesnard said. “And then a judge is going to tell us the
interpretation.”
An NFIB study released earlier this year found
passage of a proposed federal sick leave law could result in the loss of
430,000 jobs over 10 years. Small businesses would be especially hard hit.
“Job losses at small firms would account for 58 percent of all
jobs lost, and small firms would bear 50 percent of lost output,” the study
said.
