California is poised to become the second state to require paid sick leave for private employees. As reported by Think Progress,
Early on Saturday morning, the California Senate passed a bill guaranteeing at least three paid sick days a year for about 6.5 million workers, sending it to Gov. Jerry Brown (D).
Brown’s office said it supports the bill, and in a statement after it passed he said, “Tonight, the Legislature took historic action to help hardworking Californians.” Assuming he signs the bill, California will become just the second state ever to guarantee paid sick leave and the law will be the tenth in the nation.
New Jersey, of course, has two of those eight municipal laws, with six more expected to pass either legislatively or by referendum sometime this year. There also is a state-wide bill under consideration that has the support of Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto (D-Hudson).
The California vote — and the New Jersey actions — signal a major split, with many Democratically controlled or leaning states backing sick leave and GOP states moving to stop the effort. Think Progress says 10 states, including Florida, have passed legislation to prevent local action.
California, however, is the largest state in the nation and home to one in 12 Americans. It also has one of the largest economies in the world — bigger than many individual nations. That could give it outsized influence in the debate, because businesses operating there may ultimately opt to apply the California rules to all of their locations.
Hank Kalet 