Even though activists were sure earned sick pay would be an easy fight in Miami-Dade, a proposal that required employers to give earned sick pay to all workers died on first reading in a county commission meeting Tuesday.
The Miami Herald's Patricia Mazzei tweeted the vote count:
Earned sick time legislation at Miami-Dade commission failed 8-4. In favor: Edmonson, Jordan, Monestime, Suarez.
— Patricia Mazzei (@PatriciaMazzei) November 20, 2012
Voting against earned sick time legislation at Miami-Dade commission: Barreiro, Bell, Bovo, Diaz, Heyman, Sosa, Souto, Zapata.
— Patricia Mazzei (@PatriciaMazzei) November 20, 2012
An effort to pass a sick pay law in Orlando via a ballot measure was also stopped by its respective county commissioners this year.
Orlando saw the biggest opposition to the measure come from the big-business community
Left-leaning activists in Miami-Dade expected the measure would follow the fate of a wage theft ordinance, which groups passed in the county commission several years ago. The wage theft ordinance prohibits employers from illegaly withholding wages from employees in the county.
Mazzei also reports that Commissioner Barbara Jordan, who introduced the proposed county law, says she may bring it back at another time.
"We just need to educate the community a little bit better," she tells the Herald.
