Federal Contractors Will Soon Be Required To Provide Paid Sick Leave

The executive order will guarantee both full- and part-time federal contract employees an hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked for a total of up to 7 days per year. The employees will be able to use the leave to care for themselves, a member of their family, a domestic partner or another loved one, or to recover from domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking. As it first must go through a public comment period, the executive order will apply only to new federal contracts starting in 2017. Administration officials estimate it will impact about 300,000 workers who currently do not have paid sick leave and grant other workers more days than they would otherwise have.

Earlier this year, the City of Philadelphia enacted a similar paid sick leave requirement, as have 16 other cities and 3 states. President Obama is calling on the United States Congress to pass similar federal legislation and hopes that the executive order will prod lawmakers and additional entities to either enact or expand paid sick leave requirements.