Phila. City Council Passes Another Paid Sick Leave Bill; Mayoral Veto Expected
By Mike Dunn and Steve Tawa
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- In what would turn out to be only the second most raucous event of the day in City Council chambers (see related story), City Council this morning approved a controversial sick leave bill by an 11-6 vote.
This came after several lengthy speeches both for and against the measure on the floor of City Council.
The bill would require local companies to offer one hour of sick leave for every 40 hours worked. Both the Nutter administration and the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce were opposed to this measure.
After his appearance, Chamber of Commerce president Rob Wonderling told KYW Newsradio that the measure would amount to an "unfunded mandate" by the city.
"It's well intentioned, but it's poorly timed," he said, "and probably better left to state and federal governments to address."
Councilman Bill Greenlee, who introduced the measure, had a comment to those who said the timing was not right:
"I would tend to agree -- we should have done it a heck of a long time ago."
Although the bill was passed by an 11-6 vote, twelve votes would be needed for a Council override if Mayor Nutter gets out the veto stamp again, as he did on a similar bill two years ago.
