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January 17, 2011
Discounted Jobs: How Retailers Sell Workers Short
Retail is one of the fastest growing sectors in the United States and a core part of the New York City economy. This study, conducted in the fall of 2011, sought to track the wages and working conditions of frontline non-managerial workers in New York’s booming retail industry. We interviewed workers employed at non-union large stores and national chains from high-end 5th Avenue fashion to off-brand clothing retailers on Fordham Road in the Bronx. Because New York is the retail capital of the United States, and the majority of respondents worked in stores with a national presence, this study paints a portrait of the practices and conditions experienced by retail workers across the country.
January 10, 2011
Should Paid Sick Days be Required by Law?
Millions of Americans have to go to work when they fall ill, a phenomenon known as presenteeism. But mandatory paid sick leave is healthier for us all. Connecticut just became the first state in the nation to require employers to provide workers with paid sick days. The new law — which also allows paid leave for a sick child or spouse — is controversial. Opponents attack it as big government run amok and say it will kill jobs. But it is the right thing to do, both as a matter of humane treatment of workers and public health. And while the law doesn’t cover everyone, it’s a step in the right direction and other states should follow Connecticut’s lead.
Dec. 16, 2011
Editorial from Senator Wolf, Chair of the Labor, Workforce, and Economic Development Committee: Making the Real-World Case for Paid Sick Days
Paid sick leave should become part of the accepted responsibility of running a business in Massachusetts. To me, this is both humane and smart. A simple, consistent paid sick leave policy would make for a better work environment defined both in terms of quality of life and, long term, the bottom line. From the very beginning, Cape Air, the airline I founded, has offered paid time off for all employees – as have many successful businesses across the region and state. I can say from hard-won experience that this “benefit” does not break the bank. It is a minimal cost, often returned in spades when a grateful, trusted, productive employee returns to work.

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Swine flu: With no paid sick leave, workers won't stay home

Nearly half of all American workers do not have paid sick leave, and half of these are more likely to go to work feeling unwell -- or send an ill child to school -- rather than take an unpaid day off.

These findings threaten to undermine President Obama's effort to have anyone exhibiting swine-flu-like symptoms stay at home for as many as four days. The emphasis on prevention and individual responsibility is a welcome departure from the punitive government actions -- such as quarantines and forced vaccinations -- called for under previous pandemic-response plans, some health experts say.

But for the 48 percent of Americans without paid sick leave, the policy presents a choice between two equally undesirable options: stay at home and lose money or go to work despite government exhortations not to. Businesses, too, say the situation leads to so-called "presenteeism," or the act of going to work while unwell, costing the economy $180 million a year, by one estimate.  (Read Full Story: ABC News)