After being blocked last year from enacting paid sick leave to all workers in San Diego, San Diego City Councilman Todd Gloria on Friday will kick off a push to grant sick leave to hourly employees working for city government.
Gloria's proposal, slated to go before the City Council on April 27, will help the city comply with a state law taking effect this summer.
The city government's salaried workers already get sick leave, but Gloria's proposal will extend it to 1,364 hourly workers, ranging from seasonal lifeguards to part-time recreation workers.
On July 1, a state law authored by San Diego Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez will require that will allow all workers in California to accrue one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked, giving employers the option of capping the leave at 24 hours, or a total of three workdays.
Because San Diego is a "charter city" under California law, its workers are not automatically covered. Instead, the change requires City Council approval.
Gonzalez, who will join Gloria at a public event at the Civic Center at 10:30 a.m. to draw attention to his proposal, introduced the statewide measure at the same time that Gloria was pushing for up to five days of paid sick leave for all workers in San Diego, as well as a boost in the minimum wage.
Although a majority in the City Council voted for Gloria's proposal, it was blocked by a petition drive sponsored in large part by the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce, which pushed it to next year's ballot.
Gloria's spokeswoman, Katie Keach, said Gonzales's bill could make voters more receptive to extending the sick leave to five days.
