Herbert: The Right to Paid Sick Days

[RamboLiberal]

<snip>

There’s an effort under way to change this picture. A growing number of organizations and activists are lining up behind proposed federal legislation that would give most workers the right to seven paid sick days annually to take care of their medical needs or those of their families. The legislation, sponsored by Senator Edward Kennedy and Representative Rosa DeLauro, would require employers with 15 or more workers to provide the sick days.

Among the organizations pushing for paid sick days is the Public Welfare Foundation in Washington, which recently approved a $1 million “special initiative” on the issue. Deborah Leff, the foundation’s president, noted that it’s the poorest workers who most often are forced to choose between going to work sick or losing a day’s pay, and that a disproportionate number of those workers are women — many of them with children.

“At least 145 countries have paid sick days,” said Ms. Leff. “The United States is the only industrialized country lacking such a policy. Our goal is to change that.”

An overwhelming majority of Americans favor paid sick days for full-time workers. One poll showed that 95 percent of workers find it “unacceptable” for employers to deny sick days to workers. But the Kennedy-DeLauro legislation is facing a tough road.

http://select.nytimes.com/2007/05/15/opinion/15herbert.html?hp

[Solo_in_MD]

1. You included a premium link which many will not be able to read

A key issue here is the lowering of the threshold from 50 to 15 workers before it kicks in. No one is giving a number of what percentage of workers it would cover. The FMLA with a threshold of 50 workers cover between 55-60% of the current US workforce, depending on the source.

I did learn recently that waiters and others who make less than minimum wage due to tips are paid only their base salarly when out on any sort of leave or vacation. A friend in construction has already said that he can see a lot of contractors downsizing to less than 15 workers under this.

[kevinmc]

2. You Can Read It Here ........

http://freedemocracy.blogspot.com/2007/05/bob-herbert-right-to-paid-sick-days.html

[Solo_in_MD]

5. Thanks

reading through it and other sites on this no one is putting out percentages of people that will be covered or considering the impacts as small employers manuever to avoid it.

[RamboLiberal]

3. Bitch at the NY Times not me

I paid for a membership so I could read Krugman, Rich and Herbert. I don't always know exactly where or whose columns can be gotten for free!

[Solo_in_MD]

4. Your post was a NOP without it, thought you would like to know. Clearly that was a waste of

bandwidth.

[madrchsod]

6. never going to happen in america

they would move the plant out of america or screw over the worker some other way if they had to pay for sick days. we are cogs in the wheel that`s what we have been and always will be.