On August 17th, a state appeals court enjoined the City of Austin’s paid sick leave ordinance from taking effect as scheduled on October 1st.

Austin was the first Texas city to pass a paid sick-leave ordinance, requiring all private employers operating in the city to provide paid sick leave for their employees. The City of San Antonio recently followed suit by passing its own ordinance, effective January 1, 2019.

The Austin ordinance mandates that private employers with more than 15 employees must allow their workers to accrue up to 64 hours, or eight days, of paid sick leave per year. Smaller businesses with 15 or fewer employees must provide at least 48 hours, or six days, of paid sick leave per year.

Meanwhile, the Texas Legislature has taken notice of the actions by various Texas cities, and we can certainly expect paid sick leave to be an active topic of conversation (and legislation) when the 86th Texas Legislature convenes in January.

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