Mayor de Blasio And DC 37 Announce Unlimited Paid Sick Leave For 9/11 Responders

Mayor Bill de Blasio, District Council 37 Executive Director Henry Garrido, Local 3621 President Vincent Variale and Local 2507 President Oren Barzilay this week announced that the City will provide Unlimited 9/11 Sick Leave to City workers who participated in World Trade Center rescue, recovery and cleanup operations and contracted a 9/11-related illness. Unlimited 9/11 Sick Leave will be provided to employees in a range of titles across several City agencies, including employees of the union’s various divisions such as Emergency Medical Technicians, peace officers, laborers, engineers, and others. This sick leave is retroactive to September 11, 2001 and leave taken since then that has been verified to cope with a certified 9/11-related illness will be restored.

It is estimated that approximately 2,000 active employees will be covered by this agreement, which will form the basis for additional agreements with unions representing other eligible employees. Read more, including statements from Henry Garrido, Vincent Variale, and Oren Barzilay here.