Austin, San Antonio ordinances temporarily blocked by courts; Dallas litigation pending.

In 2018, the City of Austin passed a paid sick leave ordinance requiring private employers with 15 or more employees to provide 8 days of paid sick leave per year and requiring private employers with fewer than 15 employees to provide 6 days of paid sick leave per year.

Shortly after the ordinance was passed by the Austin City Council, a group of business organizations aligned to enjoin the ordinance from taking effect on the grounds that the ordinance violated the Texas Minimum Wage Act. A Texas 3rd Court of Appeals court agreed with the business organizations and declared the ordinance unconstitutional, issuing an injunction to stop the implementation of the ordinance until the litigation is resolved.

Shortly after the Austin ordinance was enjoined from taking effect, the City of San Antonio and the City of Dallas enacted similar paid sick leave ordinances.  

In San Antonio, a coalition of San Antonio business groups filed suit against the City to delay the ordinance’s implantation date. On July 24, 2019, a Bexar County district court judge entered an order delaying the implementation date of the San Antonio ordinance until December 1, 2019 in order to review and refine the ordinance.

In Dallas, a coalition of Dallas business groups is also seeking to enjoin the paid sick leave ordinance from taking effect.  However, time is of the essence: the Dallas ordinance is scheduled to take effect on August 1, 2019.  

THLA will issue an update on the status of the Dallas ordinance as soon as we get a court notice.  In the meantime, we recommend that Dallas employers review the regulations required by the new ordinance. 

The following guide indicates how the enforcement against employers will be regulated, the required signage that must be posted in relation to the ordinance, how rollover paid sick leave will work, and more:

https://dallascityhall.com/departments/fairhousing/paid-sick-leave/Pages/default.aspx

THLA can assist in reviewing employee handbooks, pay structures, and employee work schedules in order to become fully compliant with your city’s paid sick leave ordinance.

Please contact a THLA attorney at 512.474.2996 if you have any questions.