HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s Republican-controlled state Senate sided with business groups Tuesday in a battle with advocates for low-wage workers over employee sick leave policies, including one in Philadelphia that would be blocked by an advancing bill.

Senators voted 37-12 for a bill that would bar Pennsylvania’s municipalities from requiring business owners to provide any kind of employee leave, paid or unpaid, that goes beyond state or federal law. It also would seek to wipe out a new Philadelphia sick leave requirement that takes effect in May.

That policy, signed by Mayor Michael Nutter in February, requires employers with at least 10 employees to grant each worker at least one hour of paid leave for every 40 hours worked, up to 40 hours a year. Workers cannot use more than 40 hours of sick time per year, and they can roll over the sick leave time. Workers can take it for their own illness, or a family member’s illness.

Nutter’s office said in an e-mailed statement Tuesday that the mayor is urging state legislators to reject this bill, saying passage would “upset the settled expectations of Philadelphia’s workers and businesses.”

The Senate’s vote comes as President Barack Obama and Democrats are increasingly pressing for paid sick leave policies. California, Connecticut and Massachusetts have approved paid sick leave requirements, as have several big cities, including New York, San Francisco and Seattle.

The state of Pennsylvania doesn’t require employers to provide sick time, paid or unpaid.

The bill goes to the Republican-controlled House, where a GOP spokesman said many members support it. But it is opposed by Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf.