sf.citi member companies,
I hope you all are doing well during these times. I am writing to give you an update on today’s Rules Committee meeting, where committee members heard Supervisor Mar’s proposed “Public Health Emergency Leave” legislation. While I was hoping to attach the amended legislation in this memo, it is not yet available. I will send the legislation in full when it is available later today in a further member email, so as not to delay this timely update any further.
Public Health Emergency Leave
Supervisor Mar’s legislation seeks to close the assistance gap created by the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, which exempts businesses with 500 or more employees. During the meeting, Supervisor Mar provided clarification on the legislation and ensured that the ordinance immediately gives an additional two weeks of paid leave to San Francisco employees of private companies with workforces larger than 500 employees. This includes furloughed employees, employees who work in San Francisco but do not live in the city, and employees having been employed by the company for only one month prior to the pandemic, for example. He did clarify, however, that this ordinance does not include unemployed individuals, public employees, private employers who have a workforce of fewer than 500 employees, people who do not work in San Francisco, and independent contractors.
Supporters of this legislation include the SF Chamber of Commerce, Jobs with Justice, United Service Workers West, SF Labor Council, SOMCAN, and others.
Amendments to the legislation included:
- Providing public health emergency leave to health care providers when subject to quarantine guidelines, when they are feeling sick, or when they do not meet the CDC’s health guidelines
- Expanding on leave for vulnerable populations, including ages 60+
- Ensuring benefits such as healthcare will not be taken way as a response to this ordinance
- Requiring employers to give notices in Spanish, Chinese, or languages that make up five percent or more of the workforces primary language
- Requiring employers to provide further information on local, state, and federal resources for employees
- Matching the healthcare provider definition to the federal government’s definition
- Allowing companies to count additional paid leave given in response to COVID-19 toward this ordinances requirements
Upon Deputy City Attorney Pearson’s review, Supervisor Mar duplicated the file as to not include the first amendment regarding providing public health emergency leave to healthcare providers, as this item requires further substantive review. As such, a motion to move the legislation, including amendments, to tomorrow’s full Board of Supervisor meeting passed unanimously. Additionally, a motion to continue the duplicated file to the Rules Committee’s April 13th meeting also passed unanimously.
As a next step, this item will be heard before the full Board tomorrow.
Further, as you know, sf.citi has been working with Supervisor Mar’s office on this legislation. A number of member companies have reached out to confirm details regarding the legislation and sf.citi has confirmed the following with Mar’s office:
- The employee threshold of 500 or more employees is dictated by the company’s total headcount (including employees outside of San Francisco).
- Temp or staffing agency workers are classified as employees under their employer of record, which is typically the temp or staffing agency. Therefore, member companies with temp workers do not include these employees in their headcount, if the employees have their staffing agency listed as their employer.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Thank you for your continued membership.
Jen
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