News Coverage

Does Your Company Offer Paid Sick Leave? Here's Why It Should

The problem with policies that don't distinguish between leisure time and sick time, however, is that workers often will go to great lengths to avoid taking off for the latter. As such, many have a tendency to come to work sick, which pretty much benefits no one.

August 22, 2018

Pushing for paid sick leave in the workplace

The county legislature is considering a bill to require all employers provide some sick time, even for part-time workers – although the smallest businesses would be able to make it unpaid. [Includes video.]

August 22, 2018

Why Paid Sick Leave Is Important for Your Financial (and Physical) Health

Employees without paid sick benefits – of which there are 34.2 million in the private sector – are three times more likely to have family incomes below the poverty line, according to research from Florida Atlantic University and Cleveland State University published in Social Work in Health Care.

August 9, 2018

More than 100 San Antonians speak at public hearing for paid sick leave

"We're here tonight to speak up for the 350,000 people currently who do not have [paid] sick time," local business owner Julio Lopez said.

August 8, 2018

Paid Leave From Work Can Help Domestic-Violence Victims Leave Abusers

Dawn Dalton, the policy director at the Washington, D.C., Coalition Against Domestic Violence, said scheduling demands are consistently the largest obstacle standing between the victim and a different life: “I hear, again and again, ‘I just can’t get time off work.’”

August 4, 2018

Congress should set the floor on paid leave

People need time to care for themselves or a sick loved one, which is why 44 jurisdictions have passed paid sick days. Yet, lobbyists are urging Congress to give wealthy corporations a way to evade state and local laws and go back to putting limits and punishments on their employees for using the paid sick time they’ve earned.

July 31, 2018

Imagine if you’re one of the 345,000 without paid sick days

Maythe made the decision to stay home from the bakery where she works to take care of her 9-year-old son. It turned out he had the flu, and she had to miss three days of work. She didn’t get paid for those days, and it set her family back on their bills.

July 28, 2018

What You Should Know About The New Paid Sick Leave Bill

While Rhode Island's paid sick and safe leave law protects survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault so they don't have to worry about losing their jobs while going to court or seeing a doctor, advocates argue that H.R. 4219 - the Workflex in the 21st Century Act currently on the table - would put these protections at risk.

July 27, 2018

Will local LGBTQ protections be collateral damage in bid to undo Philly paid sick leave?

A bill in the Pennsylvania legislature that intends to reverse Philadelphia’s sick leave ordinance may also affect LGBTQ employment protections.

July 16, 2018

Paid sick leave: Almost all NJ workers will soon get it, and this is how

The new [paid sick days] law struck a chord with some employees at Langosta Lounge. "When you miss one day, it kind of domino-effects," said Ryan Harrington, 30, of Bradley Beach, a server there. "A little less money for whatever bill I have to pay, or something I want to do. That one day can set me back for the month."

July 13, 2018

Lack of Paid Sick Leave Linked to Poverty

Workers without paid sick leave are three times more likely to have incomes below the poverty line, two new studies find. Compared to adults who have the employee benefit, those without paid sick leave are also more likely to have difficulty affording food. They're also more likely to use welfare assistance, the researchers said.

June 14, 2018

Sick and Tired: Paid Sick Time Measure in San Antonio Driven By Low Wages and Broken Politics

At first, I didn’t take the paid sick leave initiative in San Antonio seriously enough, maybe because I’m fortunate enough to be compensated for days I’m out sick. Call it a failure of empathy.

June 13, 2018

Workers rally for paid sick leave in Westchester

Workers in Westchester rallied Monday afternoon in support of paid sick leave. Labor leaders say 125,000 employees in the county do not have it.

May 21, 2018

New study boosts local campaign for paid sick leave

The Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR) has released a new study which finds that approximately 39 percent of San Antonio workers lack paid sick leave, a figure which puts San Antonio above the estimated national average of 36 percent.

May 19, 2018

Should Texas Workers Be Guaranteed Paid Sick Leave?

Ale Tierra-Williams, a San Antonio-based cook, says the issue is not only a professional concern but also a matter of public health. "The thing is that I work in the service industry so I cannot be at work if I'm sick," she says. "So that will be, for me, it's losing hours, losing money and possibly getting fired. It's that serious."

May 16, 2018

Here's Who Paid Sick Leave in Dallas Would Help

This spring, as workers' rights advocates began their push for mandatory paid sick leave for every worker employed in Dallas, one of the biggest questions that bubbled to the surface is just how many people in the city need paid sick leave.

May 11, 2018

Have questions about how N.J.'s new paid sick leave law will work? Here's what you need to know.

While there will be some cost to employers, research shows that the benefits of paid sick leave laws far outweigh the costs. Benefits include reduced employee turnover (and the subsequent reduced cost of hiring and training new employees), higher productivity and morale, and better public health.

May 6, 2018