City Councilman Sean Abreu and Rocky. Courtesy of Sean Abreu.
Written by Claire Davenport
New York City Councilman Sean Abreu came up with the idea after learning that one of his employees had to take unpaid time off to take a cat to the vet. Abreu, a self-proclaimed “cat dad” and animal lover, felt sorry for the staff and decided something needed to change.
“We consider animals to be part of our family,” Abreu said in an interview with Rag. “Workers should not be forced to choose between caring for animals and continuing to work.”
So last week, Mr. Abreu introduced a bill that would allow New York City workers to take paid time off to care for their pets. Under the city’s current labor law, employees can take up to 56 hours of sick leave to care for themselves or a family member. Abreu’s bill would expand paid leave laws to include time off for pets and service animals that require medical care.
The proposed amendment does not specify which species would be covered, only “legal pets” and “companion animals.” Abreu said he hopes the bill, if passed, will encourage pet ownership and improve the mental health of New Yorkers who own pets.
“Everyone agrees that there is still much that can be done to improve mental health in New York City, and one easy way to accomplish that is by making it easier to own a pet. “, he said, citing research on how interaction with animals can lower stress levels and reduce feelings of loneliness.
Abreu currently has two young cats, Rocky and Nina, whom she adopted from a Washington Heights shelter a year ago. They previously lived on the streets of Washington Heights. Abreu said she has been a cat parent for most of her life and has seen firsthand the emotional impact of owning a sick pet.
“I’ll never forget the day she died,” he said of Abreu’s childhood cat, Monina, who developed a tumor and died while in law school. “I went to a local barber shop. I got my hair cut and I just started crying,” he said.
Pet publication Dogstar estimates that more than half of New Yorkers own a pet, but that number has increased significantly as people have been stuck at home during the pandemic. As pet ownership increases, the importance of pets in their owners’ lives seems to be following suit.
According to a 2024 report from Forbes Advisor, just over 50 percent of dog owners in New York spend more money on their dog’s health and grooming than they do on themselves, and data from Pew Research Center shows that just over 50 percent of dog owners in New York For 61 percent of pet owners in the world, their furry companions are just as much a part of the family as their human counterparts.
This is not the first time Abreu has introduced legislation aimed at protecting animals. He is also a vocal spokesperson for the Flaco Act, a series of bills aimed at protecting the city’s wildlife by reducing bird strikes on buildings and changing the way rat populations are managed. He is also a man. The bill was inspired by the death of Flaco, the city’s iconic owl who escaped from the Central Park Zoo and ended up with a dangerous amount of rat poison in his system after crashing into an Upper West Side building. Died.
“I know my colleagues on the City Council care deeply about animals,” Abreu said. His bill is co-sponsored by four other members of the 51-member city council. “They take worker rights very seriously and ensure a flexible working environment that fosters positive behavior.”
Some business representatives, like New York City Partnership Chairwoman Kathryn Wilde, are concerned about the potential expansion of paid leave. “At some point, we have to recognize the limits of what the government can or should mandate,” she told The New York Times.
“That argument is very disingenuous, and this does not cost employers any additional costs. We are simply giving workers the freedom to take flexible leave,” Abreu responded.
Abreu is optimistic the bill will pass, but it will first need a public hearing before the City Council’s Consumer and Worker Protection Committee. If it goes further and becomes law, New York City would be unique in terms of its vacation policy. Few cities in the country have similar rules.
Abreu said he would also like to see landlords make it easier for tenants to keep pets in their buildings in the future, but the agency is not currently pursuing the issue through policy development. Yet, as he proved with the introduction of this novel bill, anything is possible.
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