Philadelphia Mayor Signs Bill Providing for COVID-19–Related Paid Leave

On March 10, 2022, Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney signed into law the third iteration of the Public Health Emergency Leave law, which will guarantee up to forty hours of paid sick leave (COVID-19 leave) for eligible Philadelphia employees. The COVID-19 leave shall be provided to employees immediately without any waiting period or accrual requirements. Since 2015, Philadelphia has required employers with ten or more employees to provide up to forty hours of accrued paid sick leave. The COVID-19 leave, which was recently approved by the Philadelphia City Council, covers employers with at least twenty-five employees and must be provided in addition to and before requiring employees to use their accrued paid sick leave. Employers have until March 25, 2022, to provide notice to eligible employees of the requirements of this law.

Ogletree Deakins will continue to monitor and report on developments with respect to the COVID-19 pandemic and will post updates in the firm’s Coronavirus (COVID-19) Resource Center as additional information becomes available. Important information for employers is also available via the firm’s webinar and podcast programs.

Philadelphia’s Public Health Emergency Leave law, as well as state and major locality laws requiring paid leave for COVID-related absences, is shown in Ogletree Deakins’ complimentary COVID-19 Paid Leave maps and covered in greater detail in the firm’s COVID Paid Leave 50-State Survey.

Further information on state and local paid sick leave requirements is available in the firm’s OD Comply: State Leaves subscription materials, which are updated and provided to OD Comply subscribers as the laws change.