A yearslong dispute over Austin’s mandated paid sick leave rule — on hold while it is being challenged in court — resurfaced Tuesday in connection with the coronavirus outbreak.

Citing the spread of the disease, Austin labor, public health and city officials called on state officials and business advocacy groups to drop their opposition to the city’s paid sick leave ordinance and to expand worker protections.

"Now is the time for Texas political leaders to take immediate steps to protect workers and our communities," Rick Levy, president of the Texas AFL-CIO, said at the union headquarters, as he was flanked by nurses, EMS workers, bus drivers and airport workers. The organization represents 245,000 Texas workers.

Specifically, Levy urged Gov. Greg Abbott, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, the National Federation of Independent Business and the Texas Public Policy Foundation to drop lawsuits against paid sick leave mandates in Austin and San Antonio.

And at City Hall, Austin’s interim Medical Director and Health Authority Mark Escott told the Austin City Council on Tuesday the ability of people who become sick to stay at home in lieu of going to work is essentially the make-or-break piece of the city’s response to the virus.

He said teachers, nursing home workers and people employed in clubs or restaurants need to be able to go home or stay home if they have a fever.

"That is the linchpin in our public health response," Escott said. "It is the linchpin in our preparation activities. It is the No. 1 defense that we have. So right now it is absolutely critical that there are no barriers to people being able to stay home when they're sick."

Council Member Greg Casar said the council approved the ordinance guaranteeing paid sick time to employees in the city to prevent the spread of disease, among other things. He called on the Texas attorney general’s office to drop a lawsuit currently preventing the rules to go into effect, even temporarily.

"The coronavirus outbreaks happening across the country and across the world are the clear example of why paid sick time ordinances need to be allowed to go into effect," he said.

Casar said he hopes Paxton will write to the Texas Supreme Court that there are clear public health and safety reasons to drop the lawsuit, which could result in the injunction being lifted.

"This is exactly why we put this into place, so that people would not feel like they had to choose between a paycheck and being able to go to the doctor and get checked," Casar said. "Especially people working in working class jobs, in our assisted living facilities, or in hospitals or as health care workers — we want you to be able to go and go to the doctor."

The governor’s office and attorney general’s office did not return requests for comment.

But on Tuesday, Abbott and the Texas Department of Insurance asked insurance companies to waive copays, deductibles and out-of-network fees for COVID-19 testing and related telemedicine visits.

Companies that have begun waiving those cost-sharing fees include Aetna, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas, Cigna Health of Texas, Humana Health Plan of Texas, Scott & White Health Plan, Superior Health Plan and United Healthcare.

The faceoff in Texas comes as Democrats in Washington have proposed requiring all employers to let workers accrue seven days of paid sick leave and to immediately make 14 days of sick leave available at the start of a public health emergency. And President Donald Trump met Tuesday with Republican senators to pitch a payroll tax cut and paid sick leave for hourly employees.

Austin’s ordinance

Groups opposed to Austin’s sick leave ordinance said the coronavirus outbreak did not change their stance — and accused organized labor of trying to leverage the crisis for their political ends.

"This sounds more like political rhetoric than sound policy aimed at protecting workers," said Annie Spilman, Texas state director for the National Federation of Independent Business. "Small business owners are well aware of the need to keep employees healthy and safe. ... Coming up with policy in the heat of the moment, you generally come up with policy unenforceable and unconstitutional."

Austin passed its paid sick time ordinance in 2018 that required workers to earn one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked, up to a total of 64 hours, or eight days a year. Small businesses with 15 or fewer employees were capped at giving employees 48 hours, or six days.

Opponents filed a lawsuit stating the ordinance violates the Minimum Wage Act, which bans city rules that regulate the wages of private employers.

An appeals court sided with the opponents. The Texas Supreme Court is expected to decide whether to accept the case for review.

Last week, a national advocacy group dedicated to promoting fairness in the workplace urged Texas' highest court to reinstate Austin's paid sick leave ordinance, citing health concerns over sick people showing up to work with symptoms of the coronavirus.

"As public health officials struggle to contain a worldwide coronavirus pandemic, it is especially clear that workers need paid sick time in order to comply with very sensible directives to stay home — and keep their children home — if viral symptoms appear," attorney Holt M. Lackey wrote in a brief to the Texas Supreme Court on behalf of a Better Balance. "Without access to paid sick time, workers will often feel forced to go to work sick and spread illness in the community rather than risk their economic security and jobs by staying home."

‘Fear mongering’

Lawyer Rob Henneke, general counsel of the conservative Texas Public Policy Foundation, said the high court should dismiss the argument.

"It's fear mongering and I strongly disagree with attempting to create public panic for justification of an unconstitutional policy," Henneke said Monday. "While there is legitimate concern over the coronavirus, it's also true that our government is being very responsible, and there's no empirical evidence that this policy would have a public health impact any more so than the supporters can point to the lack of mandatory sick leave having a negative impact when swine flu or Ebola swelled up. It's an emotional argument aimed to create fear, and it doesn't belong within these proceedings."

In 2016, citing a growing body of evidence that lack of access to paid sick leave results in the spread of infectious diseases, as well as delayed screenings, diagnoses, and treatment, the American Medical Association adopted policies in support of paid sick leave.

At the organized labor press conference, workers in a variety of industries talked about their potential exposure to disease — and the need for paid time off.

"Every day I and my co-workers come into contact with hundreds of people from all over the world," said Ivette Leija, a bartender at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. "We’re closely monitoring the virus’ spread and what steps should be taken if workers become sick, including job security measures and paid time off. It’s a safety issue for workers and the customers they serve."

Staff writers Ryan Autullo, Chuck Lindell and Mark D. Wilson contributed to this story.