AUSTIN — Organizations in favor of Austin's paid sick leave ordinance held a town hall to make sure people are ready when the paid sick leave law goes into effect in October.
The town hall took place at the Worker’s Defense Project in East Austin on Sunday afternoon.
“I personally have had numerous challenges this year where my mother has become ill and I had to take days off to go visit her,” said Mark McKim, who attended the town hall.
McKim is a substitute teacher with AISD. He said he didn’t get paid for the times he’s had to care for his sick parent. For many like him, that puts a strain on finances and makes meetings like this necessary.
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The Worker’s Defense Project held a town hall to discuss how the new paid sick leave ordinance will impact the community. The ordinance, which passed in February, will require Austin businesses to give employees one hour of sick time for every 30 hours worked.
“Now, if I get sick I no longer have to, you know, decide, do I take care of myself? Do I go into work and risk getting everyone I work with sick just so I can make sure my bills are paid,” said Ryan Pollock, who also attended.
Ana Gonzalez with the Worker’s Defense Project helped put on the town hall to keep the public informed about where the city is in the process.
“Right now, we are in the process of rulemaking, which is pretty much what is going to decide how this ordinance is going to work,” said Gonzalez. “So, we just want to make sure people are ready and what we need to know for next steps.”
They went over the rules and how workers are able to earn their paid sick time. That gave McKim and others a peace of mind and a voice as they inch closer to that October date.
"It's important because we know that so often working people are kind of shut out of public conversations when it comes to policy,” said McKim.
Austin is the first city in Texas to require paid sick leave.