Seattle Office of Labor Standards Marks Eight-Years of Seattle’s Paid Sick and Safe Time (PSST) Ordinance with More Than One Million Dollars in Assessed Remedies to Seattle Workers

 PSST continues to be a critical support for our City’s workers and our community’s public health

The Office of Labor Standards announces the eighth anniversary of Seattle’s Paid Sick and Safe Time (PSST) Ordinance. Since September 1, 2012, through the early work of the Seattle Office for Civil Rights and now the Seattle Office of Labor Standards (OLS), the City has resolved 317 PSST cases affecting an estimated 4,670 workers and resulting in remedy assessments totaling more than $1.2 million dollars. The City has also helped employers achieve compliance by answering more than 5,000 technical assistance questions.

“The passage of this law marked an important milestone for the City’s efforts to increase economic security and advance racial equity for Seattle’s workers and their families. Our team works diligently to ensure these workers’ rights are protected and is honored to uphold the legacy of the community members and organizations, small businesses, City Commissions, labor organizations, City colleagues, and others that helped make these protections part of the fabric of our workplaces,” said Interim OLS Director Jeneé Jahn.

OLS takes this opportunity to thank the coalition of workers, community organizations, small businesses, elected officials, city colleagues, and city commissions, the Seattle Office for Civil Rights, among many more, who fueled the creation and implementation of this important protection.

When it was passed, the City of Seattle was the fourth jurisdiction to enact paid sick leave protections. As of today, 11 states, including Washington, at least 22 localities, and Washington, DC, have passed these kinds of worker protections.  

Seattle's PSST ordinance requires employers to provide employees who work in Seattle with paid leave:

• To care for themselves or a family member for a physical or mental health condition,
• To attend medical appointments,
• For a critical safety issues related to domestic violence or sexual assault,
• When a family member’s school or place of care is closed,
• When their workplace is closed by public health official for health reasons, and
• For employers with businesses of 250 or more full-time equivalent employees have closed for any health or safety reason.

As we navigate the Covid-19 civil emergency, PSST continues to be a critical support for our City’s workers and for protecting public health. The City continues to take steps to increase access to paid sick leave and support the health and safety of Seattle workers. In March, two amendments to the PSST ordinance were made to expand the number of instances where employees can use paid sick and safe time hours to meet the emerging needs caused by COVID-19. A PSST webinar with the latest updates is available to view or download here.

OLS has also partnered with the Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs and the Department of Neighborhoods to provide outreach on these amendments in 11 different languages that are available on our website and on YouTube. 

Gig Worker Paid Sick and Safe Time Ordinance

Additionally, the City passed a new temporary ordinance, the Gig Worker Paid Sick and Safe Time Ordinance, that provides paid sick and safe time rights to certain gig workers. This law became effective on July 13, 2020 and allows certain gig workers to take 24-hour increments of paid leave to care for their own health and safety, or the health and safety of a family member, under qualifying circumstances during the Covid-19 emergency.

Certain gig workers can have access to paid sick and paid safe time (Gig Worker PSST) from transportation network companies (licensed according to Seattle Municipal Code 6.310) and food delivery network companies (FDNCs) that arrange for delivery of groceries, prepared food, or beverages.

Full details of the law are available on the Office of Labor Standards website here, including a Gig Worker PSST question and answer document available here. To read more about this new ordinance or view a recorded webinar, please click here.

Gig workers with questions and complaints can submit an online inquiry form here.

Hiring entities with requests for technical assistance can send an email to business.laborstandards@seattle.gov or submit an on-line inquiry form here.

PSST Outreach and Support

Outreach support from OLS Community Outreach and Education Fund (COEF) partners help ensure that Seattle’s workers and their families know about and can access this important law during the pandemic.

The Chinese Information and Service Center (CISC) took innovative measures to ensure the community was aware of their PSST rights, including providing hand sanitizer with a PSST message in Chinese that read, “The new and unique coverage of PSST is not only protecting the workers, but also their whole families as well as the ones they care for.”

COEF partner Casa Latina, trains workers on Seattle Labor Standards rights to become “promoters” in their community to reach other workers and teach them about their rights. “During the pandemic, outreach from promoters is more crucial than ever in reaching our community, especially as folks are more isolated. With the promoter’s support, the workers shared Paid Sick and Safe Time details with their employer, who was not familiar with all the legal obligations. With this information, the employer agreed to pay out 32 hours of Paid Sick and Safe Time to the workers,” said Colleen Fontana, Casa Latina Worker’s Rights Program Coordinator.

To learn more about the PSST Ordinance, please visit our Paid Sick and Safe Time webpage. For information on COVID-19 Gig Worker Protections click here. Businesses with questions about PSST or any of Seattle’s labor standards can call 206-256-5297 or send us a message through our web form.

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