NEW YORK – New Yorkers may soon have the option of using their sick leave to take their pets to the vet or be with them during surgery, if the City Council passes a bill passed to be introduced on Wednesday.
The bill, introduced by Councilman Shaun Abreu, D-Manhattan, seeks to amend the Safe and Sick Leave Act to allow for paid sick leave, which employees can take. yourself or to care for members of your family, use for domestic as well. and service animals.
Abreu explained that the bill is intended to help deal with the city’s mental health crisis. “I think one of the easiest ways to support mental health is by encouraging people to own pets,” Abreu said, adding, “Keeping our pets healthy keep healthy.”
He cited several studies that show a pet can reduce cortisol, a stress-related hormone. In addition, he noted that having a dog, for example, can encourage people to engage in physical activity, which can have a positive effect on depression and social isolation.
This legislation comes at a time when about two-thirds of American households are reported to have at least one pet, according to the trade group American Pet Products Association. Americans will spend $147 billion on their pets in 2023, including the costs of veterinary care and over-the-counter medications, according to the organization.
Few places have laws like the one Abreu hopes to pass. In Emeryville, California, people can use their sick leave to care for a guide dog, signal dog, or service dog that belongs to the employee or a family member.
There are also some companies, including a Minneapolis marketing firm and a data firm in New York, that have voluntarily changed their policies to include paid leave for employees who took home new pet, a service that became popular during the boom in animal adoption.
But what options there are for most pet owners depends on the sensitivity of their employer.
“If I were to say to my boss, ‘Hey, I have to take Tuesday off because I have to take Waffles to the vet,’ you never know what kind of reaction he’s going to have,” said Allie Taylor, head -chairman of the non-profit organization Voters for Animal Rights who worked with Abreu’s office on the bill.
Currently, city law guarantees employees at companies with at least 100 employees up to 56 hours of paid leave each year for illness or injury to themselves or a member of the workforce. family, and those working at smaller companies are entitled to a maximum of 40 hours.
The amended law would include employee service animals and legal companion animals (there is no list of species).
Kathryn Wylde, president of the Partnership for New York City, an influential business group, expressed concern about the potential cost to employers of expanding paid sick leave limits.
“These benefits cost money, and it’s one thing if the employee is sick and can’t go to work, and another thing if it’s an optional activity,” he said. “The concern is that it ultimately creates a pattern of increasing the cost of living and doing business in New York because the costs are passed on to – use.”
Wylde pointed out that “at some point we have to recognize the limits that the government can or should dictate,” although he said that he has many pets and that he “enjoys companion animals. “
In contrast, Inimai Chettiar, president of the advocacy group A Better Balance that helped lead the campaign to pass New York City’s sick leave law, said his group would be thrilled to see the city expanding the law, as happened in the past.
“In our view, both New York City and New York State have long been leaders in paid sick leave,” he said, adding that the state would do well to reform disability insurance. temporary for workers who need time off due to their own health problems.
Taylor, who has five cats, said the bill could also be a small way to make it easier for people to keep their pets in their homes, which could help reduce overcrowding at animal shelters. in the town.
One of the reasons public shelters, run by the nonprofit Animal Care Centers system, have been overwhelmed is because the high cost of veterinary care has put some people off the hook. from taking pets. A shelter that opened in Queens in July was already at more than 210 percent capacity in August.
Abreu – who has two cats, Rocky and Nina – said he hoped the bill would become law, as there are city council members who love pets and also want to address the city’s mental health crisis .
Councilman Shaun Abreu, D-Manhattan, in the Harlem area of New York on April 6, 2024. Abreu introduced a bill that would give workers the option to use sick leave to care for their pets. (Lucia Buricelli/The New York Times)
2024-10-24 17:34:00
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