The Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence urges the Pennsylvania State Senate to support the version of House Bill 1796 originally passed by the State House, and to remove the problematic pre-emption language that was added in the Senate Local Government Committee. Special interests have repeatedly tried to pre-empt the authority of municipalities to enact their own earned sick day laws.

The original version of the bill, sponsored by Representative Todd Stephens (R-Montgomery), would prohibit local nuisance ordinances from penalizing tenants for calling police to respond to domestic violence and other emergencies. Pennsylvania NOW and other women’s advocacy organizations supported this initial bill, which does not penalize victims of domestic violence from seeking help when they need it.

Across the Commonwealth, because of locally enacted “nuisance” ordinances, victims of domestic violence face eviction simply by asking for help from the police or for emergency services. These laws, as they stand, actually penalize landlords who do not evict tenants who call the police more than three times in a year. In Pennsylvania, 31 counties have these laws on their books, including Pittsburgh, Allentown, Lancaster, Harrisburg, Wilkes-Barre and York.

HB 1796 passed in the House, but upon arrival in the Senate Local Government Committee, Amendment A05863 – which would pre-empt local governments from enacting paid sick day laws – was added to the bill. In effect, municipalities would not be able to create their own laws that benefit workers and also benefit victims of domestic violence.

In Philadelphia, for example, domestic violence victims may be eligible for unpaid leave from work to get counseling, medical attention, legal advice or create a plan for safety. In this way, in Philadelphia, victims of domestic violence are not penalized for trying to find a way out of their situation. Without access to leave, paid or unpaid, victims have fewer options to help themselves and their children, and are placed in an even more untenable situation of dependency upon their abuser.

Please contact your Senator TODAY and urge that he reject Pre-emption of Paid Sick Days by the State, while supporting the original intent of HB 1796, so that victims of domestic violence are not penalized for seeking help when they need it!