United Church of Christ - JPANet: Workers who get sick should also get time off

JPANet: Workers who get sick should also get time off

THE PROBLEM:

Nearly half (48%) of private-sector workers—and nearly 80% of low-wage workers—do not have paid sick days to care for their own health. And nearly 100 million workers don’t have paid sick days to care for a sick child.
THE SOLUTION:

The Healthy Families Act is proposed federal legislation that will guarantee workers the right to earn up to seven paid sick days a year.
The Healthy Families Act will allow workers to earn up to seven paid sick days per year. These can be used for personal illness, care of an ill family member, birth of a child or adoption, and recovery from stalking, sexual assault or domestic violence.

Many workers, typically higher paid ones, already receive a paid sick leave benefit. However, lower-wage workers who can't afford to miss a day's pay are rarely provided this benefit.

Need an example? Nearly eighty percent of food service workers have no paid sick leave. Many people find they must work even when ill. This certainly does not contribute to the common good.

On June 11, the House of Representatives held the first-ever hearing on a national paid sick day standard. We applaud our allies in Congress for calling attention to this critical work/family legislation.

MORE INFORMATION

In this economic climate, basic workplace standards like paid sick leave help prevent workers from being forced to choose between their health or the health of their family, and their paycheck or even their job. Simply put, we need this workplace policy to prevent working families from spiraling further into financial crisis.

Please urge your Representative to become a co-sponsor of the Healthy Families Act (H.R. 2460/S.1152) which will allow workers to earn paid sick days.

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Dear [Decision Maker],

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On behalf of 57 million working people without paid sick days, I urge you to co-sponsor the Healthy Families Act (H.R. 2460/S.1152). Through this important legislation, a worker would earn an hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked, up to a total of seven days in a year  unless an employer has a more liberal sick leave plan. These days could be used by workers to recover from a personal illness, care for an ill family member, adjust to and recover from the birth or adoption of a child, and recover from stalking, sexual assault or domestic violence.

Working people shouldn't be forced to risk their jobs to take care of themselves or their families.  Yet, nearly half of private-sector workers do not have a single paid sick day to care for themselves or a family member when they are ill. When million of workers get sick, need to care for an ill child, or take elderly parents to medical appointments, they lose pay or even risk losing their jobs.  Without paid sick days, working people have no choice but to go to work sick, risking the spread of illness.

Paid sick days are important to me because they promote the health and well-being of my workplace, my family, and my community.  Currently, there is no state or federal law that require workplaces to provide paid sick days.  I support updating our labor laws so that they reflect the realities of today's working families.

Thank You,

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