del.icio.us
Digg
Sphere
Stumble
Technorati
Twitter
New Bill Would Mandate Sick Days
By Marc Tracy
We have a prophet in our midst! Or perhaps a real mover and shaker. Yesterday, the New York Times's crack labor reporter, Steven Greenhouse, made the case for mandatory paid sick days based on the public-health risk presented by millions of workers coming into their offices on days when they should be at home, both nursing themselves back to health and, what's more, minimizing the chances that one of their co-workers catches what they have. Needless to say, the current H1N1 issue only amplifies the wisdom of this. Despite the fact that federal employees have paid sick leave, and that the Centers for Disease Control strongly advocate, roughly 40% of private-sector workers do not receive it. (In case you were wondering Wal-Mart contains a combination of paid sick leave and surprisingly punitive sticks for missing work.)
We don't know if Rep. George Miller (D-Ca.), the powerful chair of the House of Representatives Education and Labor Committee, read Greenhouse's article, but yesterday (as reported today by--who else?--Greenhouse), Miller introduced a bill that would guarantee five paid sick days in for workers who are sent home by their employees due to illness. The bill actually appears geared toward meeting the specific swine flu threat rather than the broader problem--it is called the Emergency Influenza Containment Act. It would also not required paid sick leave for employees who decide on their own that they are too ill to attend to work. Still, better than nothing?
A final note. The bill would also not apply to those businesses with under 15 employees--that is, the smallest of small businesses. We hope that most of those businesses, while appreciating the legislation's acknowledgement of their special circumstances, nonetheless makes the right move and, for the good of their employees, their businesses, and themselves, makes sure that workers who may have something to spread don't feel that they need to risk spreading it.
Comments (0)November 4, 2009 9:54 AM
