Why you should care about paid sick leave

From The Washington Post:

Serving While Sick

If you’re about to eat in a restaurant, you should read this first.

Or then again, maybe you’d rather not.

A report being released at a Congressional hearing later this morning by the D.C.-based Restaurant Opportunities Centers United (“a national restaurant workers’ organization, comprised of restaurant worker organizations across the country,” according to its Web site) says, among other key findings from its survey of more than 4,000 restaurant workers nationwide, that “nearly 90% of workers said they did not receive paid sick days. As a result, two thirds of respondents said they had worked while sick in the previous year, preparing, cooking and serving food.”

Ick.

Read more from The Washington Post »

Paid sick leave does not harm business growth or job growth

The Drum Major Institute (DMI) has released a new report titled “Paid Sick Leave Does Not Harm Business Growth or Job Growth“.  It is an update to DMI’s March 2010 report that found no causal link between paid sick days and boilerplate opposition claims that they harm employment.

The new report examines employment statistics in the San Francisco area to determine what effect, if any, San Francisco’s paid sick days requirement have had on employment and private sector business growth. Its aim is to help policymakers better understand the impact of the San Francisco law, and predict what the likely effect will be in New York City should a similar law pass there.

The report presents new statistics and evidence from the San Francisco area, analyzing growth in the overall number of business establishments and employment in general. The report’s key findings: Continue reading “Paid sick leave does not harm business growth or job growth”

The case for paid sick days: A letter to Noni

The following video story is from Abigail Echo-Hawk, mother of Noni.

Several months ago, Abigail’s young son Noni son was involved in a hit-and-run bicycle accident, and was seriously injured. Abigail had difficulty taking time off work to care for him:

“All I wanted to do was focus on you. Instead I began a maze of who was going to pay the hospital bills, and how long we could afford for me to stay home with you. If I can’t come into work because you’re sick or hurt, my job doesn’t pay me.”

When workers or their children get sick or are injured in an accident, they shouldn’t have to choose between work and family — a choice thousands of mothers just like Abigail have to make every year.

To learn more about paid sick days for Seattle, go to the Seattle Healthy Workforce website and pledge your support for paid sick days for all workers in Seattle.