San Antonio's 2018 Earned Paid Sick Leave Ordinance was struck down by Texas courts in 2019 before enforcement. The 2023 Texas Regulatory Consistency Act (HB 4) finalized state preemption of city paid-leave mandates, leaving no local paid-leave rule today.
The San Antonio City Council passed an Earned Paid Sick Leave Ordinance in October 2018 modeled on Austin's, requiring private employers to provide accrued paid sick time. Texas appellate courts enjoined enforcement in 2019 on Texas Constitution preemption grounds, mirroring the Austin decision. The 2023 Texas Regulatory Consistency Act, HB 4, codified across multiple Texas codes, broadly preempts municipal regulation of employer-employee relations including paid leave, hours, and scheduling. San Antonio formally suspended the ordinance. No Texas state law mandates paid sick leave for private employers. Federal FMLA continues to provide unpaid job-protected leave for eligible workers at employers with 50 or more employees.
There is no San Antonio paid-leave penalty because the ordinance is unenforceable. Federal FMLA violations carry back-pay, reinstatement, and civil penalties enforced by the U.S. Department of Labor and private suit, but no SA city fine applies.
San Antonio, TX
Texas Labor Code Chapter 62 reserves minimum-wage authority to the state and ties Texas to the federal $7.25 floor. San Antonio cannot enact a higher private...
San Antonio, TX
The Texas Regulatory Consistency Act (HB 4, 2023) bars cities from regulating employer scheduling practices. San Antonio has no fair-workweek or predictive-s...
See how San Antonio's paid leave preemption rules stack up against other locations.
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