City to challenge court rulings on sick leave, worker training

Pittsburgh officials will challenge Commonwealth Court orders that block city labor ordinances on sick leave and securityworker training, mayoral spokesman Timothy McNulty said Thursday. The state appellate court sided Wednesday with Allegheny County Common Pleas Court in both matters, finding the city overreached its authority under a home-rule law. One ordinance would require city businesses to grant an hour of paid sick leave for every 35 hours an employee worked, while the other would require security workers in many buildings to undergo training in CPR and other safety procedures.

“We recognize that paid sick leave for employees is a laudable goal,” Commonwealth Court Judge Michael H. Wojcik wrote in an opinion on the sick-leave case. “The power to achieve that goal rests with our [state] General Assembly, however, through statewide legislation addressing paid sick leave or, alternatively, through legislation vesting authority to do so in local municipalities.”

Pittsburgh City Council approved the local sick-leave legislation in August 2015. Mr. McNulty said the city law department was still reviewing the Commonwealth Court action but planned to pursue appeals “pretty quick” with the state Supreme Court.

“This is about providing workers with the time they need to get well, and to protect people they work with, or people they serve in the community, from getting sick, as well,” Mr. McNulty said. “It’s a common-sense piece of legislation.”

Common Pleas Judge Joseph James struck down both ordinances in December 2015, deeming “invalid and unenforceable” the measure on sick leave. He cited a 2009 state Supreme Court ruling that held state law prohibits municipalities “from regulating businessesby determining their ‘duties, responsibilities or requirements.’”

The Building Owners and Managers Association of Pittsburgh challenged the training ordinance, while the Pennsylvania Restaurant & Lodging Association and five businesses sued over the sickleave measure. Representatives of both associations aired confidence Thursday that they would prevail.

At the restaurant association, vice president Melissa Bova said discussions about sick leave should occur on the state level. She said the association wants “a level playing field” for regulations across Pennsylvania’s municipalities, which number more than 2,500.

“We don’t need 2,500 variations of the same concept,” Ms. Bova said.