On Monday, an executive order will be signed by President Obama requiring federal contractors to give seven paid sick days a year to their employees.
On workplace issues, it’s the latest in a series of presidential actions, unilateral action has been taken by Obama to raise the minimum wage for federal contractors, and offer paid paternal leave for federal workers and thus also encouraging cities and states similar policies to be enacted.
The executive order will be announced in a Labor Day speech to a labor group by Obama in Boston, where the City Council passed an ordinance requiring up to six weeks of parental leave in April.
Since Obama called for local action in his State of the Union address, in all 21 cities, counties and states have enacted paid leave policies
But many of those city ordinances, like Obama’s executive orders, apply only to city contractors and employees, which is leading to big gaps in who’s covered. Obama will be renewing his call for has taken as he calls on Congress to pass legislation requiring all businesses with 15 or more employees which will help to offer up to seven paid sick days each year.
Saying that they would burden small businesses that already face too much government regulation, republicans have been lukewarm to that proposal.
As per the executive order, it will require federal contractors one hour of paid leave to employees who are working on federal contracts, whether part or full-time, up to 56 hours. A year. That time will be used by those workers to care for a family member or themselves and for work absences relating from domestic sexual assault violence or stalking.
Parental leave is not included in the benefits, which most federal employees were granted by Obama in January.
Beginning with the new federal contracts issued in 2017, the executive order will help at least 300,000 workers a year as expected by the White House.
The nation’s paid leave policy is “stuck in the Leave it to Beaver era.” as said by Labor Secretary Tom Perez.
Previewing the president’s executive order, on Sunday he told reporters,”You shouldn’t have to win the boss lottery to have access to paid leave, just as you shouldn’t have to win the geographic lottery in order to get a minimum wage that allows you to feed your family”.
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