Logan Daily - Healthy Families Act Introduced by Sen. Sherrod Brown
News Article
By Katherine Hibbard
U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) held a conference call on Wednesday to discuss the desperate need that many Ohioans have for paid sick days.
According to information provided by Brown's office, the 2014-2015 flu season was unusually severe, with more than 8,800 Ohio residents hospitalized due to the sickness, though only seven were reported from Hocking County, the fifth lowest report in Ohio.
Brown was very concerned because for many residents, falling ill does not just mean having to deal with the discomfort of fighting off the sickness; for many it means being unable to take time off to recover because their employment does not offer paid sick time, or going to work sick because they can't afford not to.
"Each day, workers face impossible dilemmas," said Brown. "Do they go to work, knowing the risks to their own health and to others around them if they're sick, or do they stay home and lose a paycheck? Do they send a sick child to school knowing they're risking the health of their daughter and the entire classroom, or do they jeopardize their job by an unpaid day off?"
Brown stated that these are choices that too many Americans face, and that is unacceptable.
"No one should have to chose between a paycheck a sick child," said Brown. "No one should have to chose between a paycheck and taking care of her own health."
In order to combat these circumstances, Brown has introduced the Healthy Families Act.
The Healthy Families act would allow workers to earn up to 56 hours of paid sick time, which means for every 30 hours worked, they earn one hour of paid time. Uses for this time can include recovering from an illness or caring for a family member who is sick as well as using the time for planned events such as preventative treatment from a doctor.
The act also protects the businesses, though small businesses with less than 15 employees are exempt from the bill. Employers that currently have sick leave policies in place would not have to change them unless they did not fit the requirements of the act, and the bill will also allow employers to demand documentation that supports a request for leave that is longer than three consecutive days.
The motivation behind the act is improve worker productivity and decrease health costs by decreasing the risk of spreading sicknesses in the workplace. According to the information provided by the Institute for Women's Policy Research, more sick days would reduce unnecessary emergency room visits, and could save the economy $1 billion in health care costs per year.
"I think evidence has begun to show, and has shown for some time, that when workplaces have this policy, they really are often more productive, they have lower turnover, they have to spend fewer dollars training the next group of employees to replace those who have left," said Brown. "So over time, it's obviously the best thing for the employer. It also means that there's less likelihood that coworkers will get sick because employees who are contagious don't come to work because they have a sick leave policy. This costs our national economy $226 billion annually in lost productivity."
According to Vicki Shabo, vice president of the National Partnership for Women and Families, overall employers support laws such as Healthy Families Act once they're passed, and there has been no evidence of negative impact on job growth or business growth.
"Flu season and outbreaks of contagious illnesses are stark reminders that our nation's failure to guarantee paid sick days can cause real harm," Shabo. "That is especially true when low-wage workers who have the most frequent contact with the public cannot earn sick time. A national paid sick days standard would protect the public's health by giving workers the choice to stay home when the flu or other illnesses strike, allowing them to recover and slowing the spread of contagion in our communities and workplaces. It is a common sense policy with demonstrated and widespread benefits."
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