Starting today, restaurant workers can start claiming days through the city's first paid sick leave law. Essentially, restaurant workers who work at least 80 hours annually and are employed by a restaurant with at least four other people are entitled to five paid sick days a year to care for themselves or a family member. The law has been met by mixed reactions from chefs and restaurant owners, many of whom are worried about how to pay for it.
Earlier this year, William Tigertt, who owns Freemans, told Eater: "The law is good, but people need to be clear that the ones paying for it are going to have to be customers eventually." Adding, "It probably won't have a lot of immediate effects, but probably within six months you're gonna see people raising prices across the board in order to keep their margins at a sustainable level."
· NYC's Paid Sick Leave Law [NYC Department of Consumer Affairs]
· Restaurateurs Weigh In on the Paid Sick Leave Law [~ENY~]
· All Coverage of Paid Sick Leave [~ENY~]