12/7/2015 Print Story

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Emanuel takes step toward paid leave for sickness, childbirth

By Thomas A. Corfman June 23, 2015

With no fanfare, a panel appointed by Mayor has already begun studying whether to require employers to provide benefits such as paid leave because of illness or childbirth, mandates that would keenly interest not only low­wage workers but employers of all sizes.

The Working Families Task Force held its first meeting June 19 at City Hall. The task force is co­chaired by Ald. Ameya Pawar, 47th, and Anne Ladky, executive director of advocacy group Women Employed. The 26­ member group is expected to complete its report in the fall.

“The group will work to identify options ranging from incentives for businesses to legislative proposals at the state and local level in the coming months,” according to an email from Emanuel spokesman Adam Collins. “The task force will study leave and scheduling policies implemented in other major cities and states while seeking input from local and national policy experts."

Pawar was on the mayoral panel that laid the groundwork for last year's minimum­wage ordinance, which raises pay to at least $10 an hour starting July 1. Ladky is a key member of a coalition of nonprofits and unions that has lobbied for a city ordinance requiring private employers to offer paid sick leave.

The minimum­wage group was criticized for not including any employers, although it did have representatives from leading business groups. The new task force includes several small­business owners and executives at large employers, such as Milwaukee­based Roundy's, which operates the Mariano's grocery chain in the area, and Rush University Medical Center, the mayor's office confirmed.

STATE LEGISLATORS

In a twist, Emanuel's panel includes two state legislators: Sen. Kimberly Lightford, D­Maywood, and Rep. Arthur Turner, D­Chicago. While the mayor's office says the task force will draft proposals for the General Assembly, including Lightford and Turner could help blunt criticism from business groups that employer regulations like the minimum wage should be enacted only statewide.

Emanuel promised to form the paid­leave task force in March during the tough mayoral runoff election campaign. It is unclear why the mayor, who seldom misses an opportunity to tout the accomplishments of his administration, hasn't announced his appointments.

The scope of the new group's work goes beyond paid sick leave, which a growing number of cities nationwide already require, including Philadelphia and New York. Chicago would be the first city in the nation to mandate some form of paid time off for new parents, if that is the task force's recommendation.

The task force also plans to look at limiting employers' scheduling practices, so that employees aren't required to unexpectedly change their hours, week­to­week, or work night shifts followed by day shifts.

“It's definitely an ambitious and far­reaching set of issues,” Ladky said. “We don't have at this point specific outcomes that are expected, but we certainly expect to explore them thoroughly.

“In Chicago, like most places in the country, low­wage jobs—without some of the fundamental benefits that a lot of the rest of us take for granted—are growing faster than any other job in the economy,” she said.

TASK FORCE MEMBERS

In Chicago, the minimum wage is set to go up to $10 an hour July 1, from the statewide level of $8.25 an http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20150623/NEWS02/150629968?template=printart 1/3 12/7/2015 Print Story hour. Annual increases will raise the city's minimum wage to $13 an hour by 2019, when it will be tied to inflation. Business advocates have said wages and benefits should be set by the labor market rather than mandated by the city.

“If you force them (employers) to give a particular type of benefit, that's going to force employers to cut back in some other area,” said Jacob Huebert, a senior lawyer at the Chicago­based Liberty Justice Center. “Ultimately, the cost of this is going to be borne by workers.”

Whatever the task force's recommendations, they would have to be incorporated into an ordinance that would need to pass the . Pawar's office did not return an email requesting comment.

The Emanuel administration confirmed the members of the task force. Five employers are represented.

• Mary Ellen Schopp, senior vice president and chief human resources officer at Rush.

• Jess Terry, group vice president and chief human resources officer at Roundy's.

• Donna Baggett, vice president of human resources, S&C Electric.

• Derek Lindblom, vice president and chief of staff, 7Wire Ventures, a technology investment fund co­founded by Glen Tullman.

• Christine Cikowski and Joshua Kulp, owners and chefs of restaurant Honey Butter Fried Chicken.

In addition to Pawar, the task force includes eight members of the City Council:

• Will Burns, 4th, chairman of the Committee on Education and Child Development. He was co­chair of the minimum­wage task force.

• Jason Ervin, 28th

• Toni Foulkes, 16th

• Emma Mitts, 37th, chairman of the Committee on License and Consumer Protection

• Joe Moreno, 1st, chairman of the Committee on Human Relations. He was chief sponsor of a sick­time ordinance that stalled in the City Council.

• Matt O'Shea, 19th

• Ariel Reboyras, 30th, chairman of the Committee on Public Safety and a member of the minimum wage task force

• Tom Tunney, 44th, chairman of the Committee on Special Events, Cultural Affairs and Recreation. He is also the owner of Ann Sather restaurants.

The group also includes Latasha Thomas, former alderman of the 17th Ward and a lawyer in private practice. Turner and Lightford are state legislators.

In addition to Ladky, the task force on paid leave includes four advocates for employees:

• Robert Reiter, secretary­treasurer, Chicago Federation of Labor

• K. Sujata, CEO of Chicago Foundation for Women, a member of the Earned Sick Time Chicago coalition

• The Rev. C.J. Hawking, Arise Chicago, also a member of the coalition

• Wendy Pollack, an attorney at Sargent Shriver National Center for Poverty Law, which played a key role in the minimum­wage group

Three representatives of business groups, who voted against the minimum­wage hike as members of that task force, are part of the new group: http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20150623/NEWS02/150629968?template=printart 2/3 12/7/2015 Print Story • Theresa Mintle, president and CEO, Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce

• Tanya Triche, Illinois Retail Merchants Association

• Sam Toia, president, Illinois Restaurant Association

The group also includes one academic, Robert Bruno, a professor of labor and employment relations at the University of Illinois at Urbana­Champaign.

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