Philadelphia’s New Covid-19 Paid Sick Leave

Employers with Philadelphia employees should be aware of a new Covid Paid Sick Leave Ordinance that was passed on March 29, 2021. The new 2021 Public Health Emergency Leave (PHEL) Ordinance mandates up to 80 hours of paid sick leave for employees who satisfy one of the following location-based requirements:

  1. Work within Philadelphia;

  2. Normally work for an employer in Philadelphia but is currently teleworking due to the pandemic; or

  3. Work for an employer from multiple locations with 51% or more of their time spent working within Philadelphia.

Under the PHEL, qualifying employees who work at least 40 hours a week are entitled up to 80 hours of paid sick leave. Qualifying employees who work less than 40 hours a week are entitled to an amount equal to the average amount of time the employee works in a 14-day period. Employees who have changing schedules are entitled to the average number of hours worked over the past 90 days multiplied by 14.

Qualifying employees may take PHEL leave if they are:

  1. Caring for themselves or a family member diagnosed with, exposed to, or showing symptoms of Covid-19;

  2. Caring for themselves or a family member isolated due to a quarantine order or advised to self-quarantine due to Covid-19 concerns;

  3. Caring for a child whose school or place of care is closed or unavailable due to Covid-19; or

  4. Obtaining or recovering from a Covid-19 vaccine.

Subject to few exceptions, employers must provide PHEL in addition to any other paid leave benefits already provided. Additionally, employers are required to provide notice to employees who are eligible for leave under the ordinance. The ordinance will be in effect until Governor Wolf lifts the Proclamation of Disaster Emergency related to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Covered employers should take this time to revisit their paid sick leave policies and ensure compliance as well as evaluate Covid-19 related leave requests under PHEL.  A copy of the ordinance can be found here.

For questions on PHEL or any other labor and employment topic, please do not hesitate to contact the attorneys at Hoffman & Hlavac. To stay updated on this and other key labor and employment law developments that affect your workplace, subscribe to our blog and follow us on social media.

Beth Hlavac