Federal contractors must pay sick leave for staff as of Jan. 1

Federal contractors must pay sick leave for staff as of Jan. 1

A new rule from the U.S. Labor Department will affect dealers who sell or service federal government fleets and other WANADA members who are federal contractors. Starting January 1, 2017 all federal contractors must offer their workers paid sick leave. Companies with more than 100 employees must also report to the government how they pay their workers by race and gender.

The sick leave requirement applies only to government-solicited contracts. Workers may also use the leave to care for a sick family member or to deal with the aftermath of sexual assault or domestic violence.

The administration wrote the rule after sick leave legislation stalled in Congress for years. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and International Commerce Association called the rule a –compliance nightmare,” and the Chamber said it would create a large administrative, paperwork and labor time burden.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) will release an annual report based on the salary data collected, showing the pay for various sectors by industry and region.