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City has failed to enforce paid sick leave, says auditor report

Mike McGinn signs paid sick leave into law in 2011 at Plum Bistro (Photo: CHS)

Mike McGinn signs paid sick leave into law in 2011 at Plum Bistro (Photo: CHS)

In 2011 when Mayor Mike McGinn signed mandatory paid sick leave into law on Capitol Hill, it was hailed as a major progressive victory and a crowning achievement of his administration. Then there was that small bit about actually putting it to work.

From when the law went into effect in September 2012 to December 2013, workers made 143 valid complaints about paid sick leave enforcement, but a recent report found none of those resulted in fines on employers or anything more harsh than an advisory letter.

According to the report (PDF), nearly half of the complaints alleged employers had no paid sick leave at all. Some of those employers proved to have paid back wages after receiving letters, but auditors found most had promised compliance with no follow-up from the city.

In the 52-page report, city auditors said the Office of Civil Rights did not adequately enforce the law and failed to routinely follow-up with workers to see if their grievances were settled. The report also noted that SOCR director did not initiate any investigations over the past 16 months. In a response director Patricia Lally, who was hired in late 2013, said the investigations were hampered by the political climate leading up to the ordinance signing and being short staffed.

According to the report, the SOCR process “did not involve formal investigative methods such as gathering evidence, site visits, formally documented interviews, and developing findings.”

Auditors noted that San Francisco largely abandoned its “non-adversarial” approach to enforcement and instead uses formal investigations and sanctions.

Meanwhile, Mayor Ed Murray is proposing to create a new Office of Labor Standards to oversee paid sick time and the Seattle’s new minimum wage law.

You can file a paid sick time complaint with the city here. CHS is checking in to find out if any of the complaints were Capitol Hill-related.

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iluvcaphill
iluvcaphill
9 years ago

This is basically wage theft. These employers should not only be forced to pay devastating civil fines they should also face criminal charges just like any other robber or burglar who steals your money. It’s already a crime in Seattle to intentional not pay wages due so start locking these deadbeat employers up. I’m sure it will only take a few of them in King County Jail to get the rest of them in line. Wage theft is the 21st century equivalent to slavery.

sickpay
sickpay
9 years ago

It is too bad when something as great as sick pay gets taken advantage of from both sides. Being sick should not set anyone back financially nor should companies have to pay people who are taking advantage of the system. I have worked with a handful of people who have taken advantage of sick pay while my company pays for their days off. It just sucks that there will always be flaws in this system.

Eric
Eric
9 years ago

Why pass a law that is not going to be enforced, making it purely symbolic. This city and area does way too much of that educate as enforcement stuff. Some people won’t learn until they take a hit in the pocketbook, so time for the city to stop being so lax and start enforcing the laws with fines. There are plenty of things they can use the extra revenue from the fines levied on.