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Paid leave helps everyone

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Also by Austin King:

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Sheriff candidate promotes equality (September 12, 2006)
$1.85 worth of (wage) difference (October 1, 2004)
Advancing tenants' rights (October 10, 2003)
Student power needed in City Hall (April 9, 2003)

by Austin King

Friday, September 9, 2005

Most of us remember staying home from school when we were sick as children. The reason sick kids stay home is two-fold: inability to be productive and limiting the spread of infectious disease. In the adult world, sick workers stay home for the same reasons. Over the past several decades, however, paid sick leave has ceased to be an assumed, automatic part of most jobs. In the United States, nearly half of all workers no longer have paid sick leave at all. This is especially true of low-wage and part-time workers. This fall, a coalition called Healthy Families, Healthy City is working to extend paid sick leave to all workers in the city of Madison.

Sick leave is a basic employment benefit that involves an employee accruing paid hours that can be taken off to recover from personal illness or to provide care to a sick relative. Without paid time off, workers are forced to choose between their (or a loved one's) health and their wages. Especially for low-wage workers, this is an incredibly difficult decision. Marilyn Feil from the Community Action Coalition recently stated that for low-wage workers, "the difference between having paid sick leave and not having it is the difference between living in an apartment and living in a car." No worker should be forced to choose between their health or their child's health and their paycheck.

Sick leave also benefits employers. Employees who come to work sick are likely to be unproductive and infect their co-workers, which results in lost productivity. Several economists are beginning to study this phenomenon, which they have termed "presenteeism." It is estimated that presenteeism costs American businesses $255 per employee each and every year. In the service, childcare and health care industries, presenteeism also endangers public health. Sick cooks and waitstaff should not be handling food. Sick childcare and health care providers should not be in contact with their clients, who frequently have weaker immune systems.

Everyone probably remembers viral outbreaks in elementary school, when whole classrooms of children become infected with the same illness. Sick children should be kept home to prevent such contagions, but parents without paid sick leave often cannot afford to stay home to watch them. This results in an ever-expanding range of illnesses to which children are exposed at school, bringing them home and infecting their parents, who in turn infect their customers and co-workers, who infect their children, who infect their classmates and so on. At each step in the process, a day or two home in bed (and not in contact with others) could stop the spread of infection and save people discomfort and lost productivity.

Some conservative business owners have expressed disdain for paid sick leave and have indicated they want nothing to do with this conversation. Still others are open to the idea and willing to have a discussion. This week, Ground Zero Coffee Shop owner Lindsey Lee has decided to institute a paid sick leave policy because, as he says, "I believe it will help boost employee morale." Lindsey and other progressive business owners are playing an important role in the discussion underway about paid sick leave.

Student involvement in this issue can have a critical impact for Madison workers. UW students have a history of involvement in local politics and are a key voice for progress in the city of Madison. Just two years ago, it was students that led the push for a higher minimum wage in the city of Madison, which in turn led to the state taking action. Let it be said clearly that without the efforts of UW students, the minimum wage in Wisconsin would still be $5.15 today instead of headed toward $6.50.

Your efforts can be the difference-maker that helps low-income workers finally receive the paid sick leave already guaranteed by 117 countries worldwide. To that end, you can get involved in student organizations like the Poverty Action Network, the Student-Labor Action Coalition, the College Democrats or the Green-Progressive Alliance. Or get in touch with the campaign directly by contacting healthyfamilies@gmail.com or visiting www.healthyfamiliesmadison.org.

This semester, as the country keeps sliding backward, students can be responsible for some significant progress in our part of the world. Let's make it happen.

Austin King is Madison's District 8 alderman.

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Anonymous (September 9, 2005 @ 1:25am):

I agree with the author. This makes perfect sense. Plus, I'd feel much more comfortable eating out knowing that workers who were sick had chosen to stay home rather than handle my sushi.

Anonymous (September 9, 2005 @ 6:07am):

Paid leave helps everyone... except service industry employees (i.e. high school students, college students, and others Austin King claims to be helping) and just about anyone in the private sector.

Mr. King and others challenged in understanding basic laws of economics always seem to forget one thing- employers only hire those who will produce returns greater than their cost of employment.

The Madison City Council has already increased the per employee cost to employers by raising the minimum wage. The requirement for paid sick leave for everyone will only drive the costs up more. Once these costs exceed the returns, employers no longer hire those employees. And then, those employees are out of jobs thanks to Mr. King and his other "progressive" friends.

Paid sick leave makes sense for professionals and others in careers, where they will likely stay at their jobs for 10 years or more, which is why most of those companies offer it already. It does not make sense for employees in the service industry who may only stay at their jobs for 10 days.

Anonymous (September 9, 2005 @ 8:47am):

Go Austin!! I live in your district and I don't get any paid sick leave at my job. It would make just so much more sense if I were able to take a day off every once in a while when I get too ill to work. All the other jobs I've ever worked have given me that benefit, and it's not like I ever abused it, but in emergencies it really came in handly. I can't believe 117 countries already have this and the U.S. doesn't. It's time for our workers to get a piece!

Anonymous (September 9, 2005 @ 10:26am):

Sounds all fine and good in theory, except many people don't honestly use paid sick time for when they are actually sick. They use it as more vacation time. Since paid sick time is typically not paid out at the end of the year, most people see it like "wasting" vacation. If your employer pays out unused sick time as a bonus, then at least there is some incentive to not abuse it.

Oh and lastly, why does Madison government insist on interfering with every aspect of private business? Let employers make their own decisions and let the market work.

Anonymous (September 9, 2005 @ 1:06pm):

This article is complete crap. Just like everything else Austin backs. Paid sick leave for PART-TIME workers? Hell, let's just give every worker no matter how much they work paid vacation time also. You know what's even better? Every employer should be required to pay all employees for 40 hours of work per week no matter how many hours they are actually there. I got an idea, rather than Madison being so accomodating to small business, let's start cracking down and make it really hard for small business owners to survive. Like, I don't know, mandated higher wages, smoking bans, paid time off for people that don't deserve it. That'll show 'em. I gaurantee that this paid "sick" leave will not be used for the sick times. If you want paid sick leave get a full time job. Simple, you get what you earn.

Anonymous (September 10, 2005 @ 9:53am):

Since we're talking part-time jobs, maybe they should just work the part of their time that they're not sick.

Anonymous (September 11, 2005 @ 12:28pm):

Holy vitriol, batman! You right-wingers have a lot of pent-up anger, apparently.

Take a deep breath, now....

Anonymous (September 11, 2005 @ 4:05pm):

right-wingers????

Are they the only people owning businesses that want to make money?

Maybe Air America stole all that money from the poor kids so they could give paid sick days to the part-time help?