Dodd, DeLauro Praise Labor Committee Passage of Paid Sick Leave Bill

Press Release

Dodd, DeLauro Praise Labor Committee Passage of Paid Sick Leave Bill

Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) and Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-3) released the following statements today praising the Connecticut General Assembly's Labor and Public Employees Committee for passing paid sick leave legislation. Dodd and DeLauro are the authors of federal paid sick leave legislation, the Healthy Families Act.

"Connecticut was the first state in the nation to see a bill like this pass one of our legislative chambers, and with today's vote we are now one step closer to seeing it become law," said Dodd. "No one should have to choose between their job and their health or that of their family. And thanks to the leadership of people like Edith Prague, Rosa, and my late friend Ted Kennedy, they hopefully won't have to make that unfair choice for much longer."

"Today's vote in Connecticut is another step forward in the fight to ensure that every American worker has the right to take time off to deal with their own medical needs, or those of their families," said DeLauro. "Almost half of all private sector workers, 57 million, do not have a single paid sick day. These workers put their jobs on the line every time they take a day off. It is a simple matter of right and wrong to ensure that paid sick days legislation is passed at the national level as well."

Senator Dodd is a senior member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee and chair of its Subcommittee on Children and Families. Congresswoman DeLauro is a senior member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor-Health and Human Services-Education, and Chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, and Food and Drug Administration.

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