Pittsburgh City Council expands paid sick leave requirements for businesses

Pittsburgh City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved a measure that will mandate businesses provide additional paid sick days for workers.

Under the city’s existing Paid Sick Days Act, which went into effect in March 2020, employers with 15 or more employees must give workers up to 40 hours of paid sick leave per year. Smaller employers must provide up to 24 hours per year.

The new measure will require employers with 15 or more workers to provide up to 72 hours of paid sick leave, while those with fewer than 15 workers will have to provide at least 48 hours of paid sick time.

The changes will go into effect Jan. 1, 2026.

Council President R. Daniel Lavelle, D-Hill District, who sponsored the legislation, said the delay in implementing the expanded policy will give officials time to help small business prepare for the change.

The measure also allows employees to accrue paid sick time faster.

Union workers during a recent public hearing before City Council enthusiastically backed the measure, arguing it will allow them to more easily schedule medical appointments and avoid coming to work sick, which risks spreading illnesses.

Bernetta Brown, a cleaner at Station Square represented by the 32BJ union, told council members she tries to use her sick days sparingly. Some of her co-workers, she said, are already nearly out of sick time for the year, while others come to work even if they’re not feeling well.

“It would be nice to have more paid sick days to recover when I’m sick,” she said. “We’re overworked, underpaid and often must clean up messes that expose us to germs and illness.”

Pamela Rall-Johnston of Fineview works as a janitor at the University of Pittsburgh and also is a member of the 32BJ union. She too said the city should ensure everyone has more sick leave.

“There’s no reason anybody should have to go and stress out over losing pay or their health,” she said.

Lauren Brinjac, senior director of government affairs at the Pennsylvania Restaurant and Lodging Association, said the organization takes workers’ health seriously but questioned the need to expand the city’s sick day policies just a few years after the measure was implemented. In the aftermath of the covid-19 pandemic, she said, some industries are still struggling and may have a hard time absorbing the costs of more paid sick leave.

“In the current business environment, the hospitality industry is operating on razor-thin margins, and these proposed changes will be very challenging in terms of payroll costs, as well as hiring, especially in smaller operations,” she said.