I have COVID right now and work in Pittsburgh, PA. I work for a huge corp that is based in a different state. There is a city ordinance for COVID-19 sick leave where employers (w/ 50+ workers) who employ people that work 40 hrs/week must provide those employees with 80 hrs of covid sick leave. Ordinance is still in effect until July 2022. The HR tried telling me that they provide PTO so they don't have to honor the ordinance. They also told me to submit that PTO for my time off to be covered. I emailed back stating that the ordinance calls for PTO specifically designated as COVID sick leave. The PTO they want me to submit is my own accrued personal PTO so I will not be submitting that to cover my COVID leave. I asked them to create another category of PTO for COVID sick leave and I will submit hours from that. I am going to stand ground because I don't think a company can supercede local city law.
Here is some info on the ordinance in regards to a company which already has a PTO policy in place. It says that the PTO must specifically be for COVID sick leave:
“To the extent an employer has adopted a policy that provides employees with paid leave specifically for COVID-19–related purposes, that employer may generally substitute leave under that policy for leave required under the ordinance as long as the policy was enacted after March 13, 2020 (though the employer must provide additional leave to the extent that the ordinance’s requirements exceed those of the employer’s leave policy). Employers that have already provided this leave under the December 2020 ordinance need not issue employees a new bank of COVID-19 paid sick leave”
Still waiting for them to get back. Do you think I have a case here?