May 15--Los Angeles City Council members announced Friday that they would be stripping a controversial provision that could have forced businesses to grant employees 12 paid days off a year from a plan to raise the minimum wage.
Critics of how the time-off requirement was incorporated into the wage legislation, including Mayor Eric Garcetti, argued it was not properly studied and publicly vetted even though it could impose major new costs on businesses. The mandate outraged business groups, which alleged that it was added at the last minute into a version of the wage hike plan approved by a City Council committee on Wednesday.
The decision to peel off the paid-leave requirement and place it on a separate track for legislative review marked a rare political retreat for Herb Wesson, the council's powerful president. Less than 24 hours earlier, Wesson was standing by the provision and issued a pointed retort to the mayor.
"I don't believe the mayor intended to call into question the knowledge and expertise of the elected council members who collectively have over 100 years of legislative experience," Wesson said in a statement Thursday.
On Friday afternoon, Wesson and Councilman Curren Price -- who had supported the time-off mandate -- altered course, saying in another statement that a policy on paid time off would be considered independently, the approach sought by the mayor.
Wesson and Price issued their statement with Councilman Paul Krekorian, who also expressed concerns about the lack of discussion on the proposed paid time-off requirements.
"Sick leave is an important issue for all working families in Los Angeles and, like the minimum wage policy, it deserves thoughtful deliberation and thorough study," Krekorian said in the statement. "I look forward to analyzing the issue carefully with my colleagues and soliciting broad public input, so that we can determine whether there is an approach that makes sense both for employees and our recovering economy."
At issue is language included in the city's plan to raise the minimum wage to $15 by 2020. The mandate, which critics say was added at the last minute this week after close to a year of debate on the minimum wage, called for paid time off "consistent with previous city wage policies." Garcetti and others suggested that that might force businesses to grant 12 paid days off per year, matching a requirement for city contractors and hotels.
It is still unclear whether a time-off mandate would be limited to sick leave or cover other forms of paid time off, such as vacation days.
After passing through a key council meeting Tuesday, the minimum-wage increase is headed toward possible approval next week by the full council. An ordinance would then be drafted by the city attorney and forwarded to the mayor for signing after a final round of council review.
Meanwhile, the subject of paid time off will be referred to the city's Chief Legislative Analyst for further study as a potential "amendment" to the rest of the minimum wage ordinance. That analysis is expected to be complete and ready for review by a council committee in about six weeks.
"The council president and council member Krekorian agree that the paid time off component of the city's proposal to raise the minimum wage needs and deserves further study at this time," Krekorian spokesman Ian Thompson said. "It will not be considered on Tuesday" for approval with the rest of the minimum wage ordinance, Thompson said.
