Massachusetts Paid Leave Coalition

Connecticut Passes First Statewide Sick Days Bill

Joins Massachusetts as Part of Growing National Movement for Paid Sick Days

BOSTON– The momentum behind the Massachusetts Paid Sick Days Act, H. 1398, S. 930, grew today as the Massachusetts Paid Leave Coalition celebrated the approval of the country’s first state-wide paid sick days law in Connecticut. The legislation, which will ensure workers do not have to choose between their financial security and their health or the health of their families, received bi-partisan support in both the state Senate and state House. Connecticut Governor Dan Malloy has indicated he will sign the bill into law.

“Across the country, working people and elected officials understand that paid sick days is a policy that’s good for the public health, good for families and good for the economy,” said Elizabeth Toulan, Coordinator of the Massachusetts Paid Leave Coalition, which has over 70 member organizations. “It’s time for Massachusetts to join the movement to ensure working families do not have to choose between their financial security and their families’ health. Paid sick days represent an enormous benefit to Massachusetts employers as well: $348 million in savings due to reduced turnover, contagion and lost productivity.”

Rob Everts, President and CEO of Massachusetts based Equal Exchange celebrated the passage of Connecticut's paid sick days bill. "The Connecticut Paid Sick Days win is a great step forward in improving workplace standards in this country. The paid sick days policy at Equal Exchange has been a huge plus for our company. Our policy has been in place since we were a very small company, back in the 80's. Now we have 110 employees and gross revenues of $36 million. Our paid sick days policy has contributed to our growth, profitability and high retention rate of employees."

The Massachusetts Paid Sick Days Act, with over 50 co-sponsors in the House and Senate, would allow employees to earn up to seven paid sick days a year by working thirty hours for each hour of paid sick time they could take to care for their own health as well as that of a family member. Just last month, Labor Secretary Joanne Goldstein declared paid sick days a ‘basic right,’ joining Gov. Deval Patrick in his public support for the Paid Sick Days Act.

Rep. Kay Khan of Newton, the House lead on the Act congratulates her counterparts in Connecticut who are the first in the nation to secure passage of paid sick days legislation: "Almost 1 million Massachusetts employees lack access to a single paid sick day. Our Paid Sick Days Act not only benefits businesses and families, it can save the Commonwealth $1 billion annually by reducing the use of emergency rooms for routine care, and for the treatment of serious and complicated illnesses that could have been prevented or cured earlier if the patient had access to paid sick days."

Sen. Pat Jehlen of Somerville, the Senate lead on the Massachusetts bill, applauded Connecticut for adopting this long-overdue public policy. "Under our bill, elders can get the care and support they need in a medical emergency from family members with access to paid sick days. Studies have shown that patients recuperate much more quickly when cared for by a family member. If we are at all concerned about the rising costs of health care, including for our elders, then it makes sense for us to get our Paid Sick Days Act passed as soon as possible."

In Philadelphia, a paid sick days bill is expected to come to a vote in City Council in early June. Paid sick days legislation in New York City has 35 City Council sponsors, while diverse coalitions are supporting a bill in Seattle and preparing a ballot initiative in Denver. More than a dozen other states have coalitions advocating actively for paid sick days and paid family leave policies. San Francisco and Washington, DC have already implemented paid sick days laws.

With more than 44 million Americans - almost one million in Massachusetts - working without paid sick time to care for themselves or ill family members, many hard-working people are unable to take a day off without fear of losing needed income or even a job. That means workers in jobs that require a high-level of interaction with the public often go to work sick. During the H1N1 epidemic, 8 million Americans went to their jobs with the flu, in turn infecting another 7 million people with the virus.

Employee Hilda Pizarro supports the Paid Sick Days Act. “I was suspended for two weeks from my job cleaning houses for Merry Maids because I had to take my two year old son to the hospital for emergency treatment of his asthma. Merry Maids does not provide paid sick days. While out on suspension, I was notified that my employment was terminated. They treated you like weren't a human being."

Army veteran and security guard Bruce Fisher has been working for Securitas for six years now, without any provision for paid sick days. "When there's an outbreak of the flu or some other illness that spreads easily, we're told to stay home, without pay! If we come to work with a cold or a runny nose, we're told to go home. During serious outbreaks, we have been asked to stay home for as long as two weeks without pay. We can't afford to go without pay for two weeks."

In San Francisco and Washington, DC, where laws have already been enacted, studies show that workers are healthier and more productive when they have access to paid sick days. The studies also refute the corporate lobbyists’ predictions that legislation negatively impacts job growth and the economy. In fact, six in seven employers surveyed in San Francisco say that paid sick days have had no negative effect on profitability and two-thirds of employers support the law. A growing body of academic research shows the costs of providing paid sick days are extremely small, while the benefits – for employees, employers, and the public – are substantial.

Economists are highlighting job retention policies like paid sick days as a way to support the decline in unemployment, which recent figures show is related to a reduction in layoffs and firings, rather than job creation alone.

“Job retention policies that fight unemployment should be a top priority,” said Eileen Appelbaum, senior economist at the Center for Economic and Policy Research. “Paid sick days legislation would help deter unnecessary firings, and help keep hard-working people in their jobs.”

The Massachusetts Paid Leave Coalition, like the Everybody Benefits coalition in Connecticut, is a member of http://familyvaluesatwork.org/, a national consortium of state organizations bringing together diverse groups to work for paid sick days and paid family leave.