Last Updated: Feb 1, 2021
Last year, the Philadelphia City Council amended provisions of the Philadelphia Code to require that certain health care employees are compensated in the event they contract a communicable disease during a pandemic or epidemic event, all under certain terms and conditions.
Health care employers are required to provide certain health care employees and pool employees with paid sick leave and to compensate for healthcare expenses when employees miss work and test positive for COVID-19. The employer may offer to treat the employee at its own healthcare facility for no cost to the employee.
The full amendment can be accessed here.
Under this amendment, health care employees are defined as a person who has full-time or part-time employment within a healthcare organization, including but not limited to hospitals, nursing homes, and home healthcare providers. To qualify for this benefit, the employee must be in the service of the employer for a minimum of 40 hours during the previous three-month period prior to contracting the communicable disease during a pandemic or epidemic event. The provisions apply to employees who perform work within the geographic boundaries of the City of Philadelphia. Employers who have 10 or more employees must comply with the provisions.
Additional resources regarding Philadelphia’s paid sick leave requirements during the COVID-19 emergency can be found here.
Additional Philadelphia Code provisions regarding employee paid sick time can be found here.
Employers can contact the Philadelphia City Office of Benefits and Wage Compliance at the Mayor’s Office of Labor for compliance assistance. For more information or to ask questions, email COVID19WorkplaceProtections@phila.gov or call (215) 686-0802.