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Business owner considering some of his companies due to paid sick leave ordinance

One small business owner says he's considering taking his business outside the city after the passing of the paid sick leave ordinance.

People have mixed emotions regarding the passing of the paid sick leave ordinance on Friday morning.

Proponents of the ordinance said it protects people from having to choose between work and taking care of their health.

Many small business owners are worried that, with the ordinance in place, they won't be able to stay afloat.

Peter Morales owns a lot of small businesses in the Austin area.

He was helping out at Las Quesadillas on Saturday afternoon.

Morales said he already offers his workers paid sick leave.

“Whenever somebody calls in sick, we tell them to take the day off,” Morales said, explaining that, in the restaurant business, you can’t afford to have sick people working.

He said he thinks the ordinance is a good idea, but he believes the city needs to consider the impact on small businesses.

“I know that because we own different companies, so we support some of our businesses sometimes when times are not good,” Morales explained. “And for a business owner, if this were my only business, it would definitely hurt me.”

Morales spoke to some colleagues and explained some are thinking about moving their businesses away from Austin.

“I have several friends in the construction industry, several companies, that are specifically saying they are going to move outside the city limits,” Morales said.

He said the thought has crossed his mind, too.

Morales said small business owners do a lot to give back to the city, even calling them “the heart of Austin”.

"I shop locally, I spend my money locally,” Morales said. “So any profits we make on our small business, we help turn the economy in Austin.”

Morales said now is the time for people to come together to look at the ordinance, in order to understand its impact on small business owners.

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