Paying sick time not warmly received

When City Council’s paid sick leave debate opened to public comment Thursday, it pitted business owners against workers. More than a dozen business owners and Chamber of Commerce representatives urged Council to reject legislation that they said would force them to close or leave the city and take their tax dollars with them.

Candace Sneberger, founder of VacationWired .com, said the recession cut her staff in half, but being forced to offer 40 hours a year of paid sick time would “cripple the company.” The bill, co-sponsored by Councilmen Bill Greenlee and Darrell Clarke, would also require large employers to provide 72 hours annually.

An estimated 210,000 working Philadelphians do not have paid sick time. Maureen Scully knows how they feel from her days in the service industry. Now that she works at a non-profit offering it, she no longer has to choose between getting surgery or a paycheck.