Paid Sick Days Legislation Is Introduced Across the Country in Dire Economic Times
Julie Schwartz Weber March 25th, 2009
The 2009 legislative sessions are well in progress, and paid sick days campaigns are active across the country in 15 states. Advocates against the bills argue that in this recession, passing this legislation is a very bad idea, since employers should not have to comply with additional mandates in an already strained and shrinking economy. However, advocates for paid sick days are arguing quite the opposite. Rather, they argue, such work protections are especially necessary in this recession to reduce job loss and absenteeism, and ensure economic sustainability and productivity for families and businesses.
Advocates for both sides are working hard in Connecticut and Minnesota, two of the fifteen states introducing such legislation and the two states that are closest to enacting a paid sick days law. Introduced on January 27th, Connecticut bill HB 6187 was approved on March 3rd by the Assembly’s Labor and Public Employees Committee with a vote of 8 to 3. HB 6187 would require employers with fifty or more employees to provide 6 paid sick days to their employees to use to address the employee’s or the employees’ child’s mental or physical illness or injury, to seek preventative medical care for the employee or employee’s child, or to deal with sexual assault or family violence issues.
Meanwhile, Minnesota’s 2009 paid sick days legislation was similarly approved by committee this month. HF 612, the Healthy Families, Healthy Workplace Act, is modeled after the San Francisco ordinance, the first paid sick days legislation passed by a locality in the country. HF 612 guarantees all workers paid sick time, regardless of the size of their employer, though large employers (those with greater than 10 employees) would provide for more paid sick days than smaller employers. In addition, while HF 612 provides paid time off for similar reasons included in the Connecticut bill (mental or physical illness or injury, preventative care, and treatment due to domestic abuse), it extends further than the Connecticut bill. In Minnesota, an employee can take paid sick days to care for herself, her child, and also care for the needs of a spouse, parent, grandparent, or other extended family member.
