Voters Approve Local Health Care Measures
San Francisco voters on Tuesday approved a measure that will require businesses to offer paid sick leave for all employees, the Los Angeles Times reports. The city is the first in the country with such a law.
Under the measure, employees will accrue one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked. The rule applies to full-time, part-time or temporary employees.
Businesses with 10 or fewer employees must offer a maximum of five paid sick days a year per employee, and larger employers must offer a maximum of nine days. The days can be used to care for a sick child, partner, or other loved one, according to the Times.
The San Francisco Labor Council; AFL-CIO; and Young Workers United, a grass-roots group of young service and restaurant workers, supported the measure. Business groups opposed it.
The measure takes effect in 90 days (Romney, Los Angeles Times, 11/9).
Residents of the Cambria Community Healthcare District on Tuesday approved a measure that would quadruple property owners' annual assessments to fund a second ambulance with paramedics, the San Luis Obispo Tribune reports.
Measure AA will provide $328,000 annually to cover the pay and health and retirement benefits for three new paramedics.
The paramedics would drive a second ambulance for backup calls when the primary ambulance is busy. Without a backup unit, out-of-town units must drive about 30 minutes when residents need care (Tanner, San Luis Obispo Tribune, 11/8).