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Nov 10, 2009 6:43 pm US/Central
Bill Could Guarantee Paid Sick Leave Due To H1N1
(WCCO)
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The Centers for Disease Control is advising Americans to stay home if they get H1N1, but for millions of American workers, that's not an easy choice. (File)
AP
On Tuesday, a U.S. Senate committee took up emergency legislation to guarantee paid sick days for workers who get the H1N1 flu virus. It's in response to the ongoing flu pandemic.
The Centers for Disease Control is advising Americans to stay home if they get H1N1, but for millions of American workers, that's not an easy choice. They don't get paid sick days, so they go to work, possibly infecting co-workers or customers.
Here's the surprising facts:
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said more than 50 million American workers, 39 percent of the nation's work force, don't get paid sick leave.
The bill in Congress requires businesses to provide five paid sick days for workers or to care for a member of their family who has the flu. It applies to businesses with 15 or more workers.
Luther Lampert, a part-time bartender in Minneapolis, said he comes in contact with hundreds of people daily.
When he is sick, he said he usually goes to work. And if he got H1N1, he said he would go to work until he physically couldn't.
"I wouldn't be able to pay bills, that's for sure," Lampert said. "I'm more likely to go into work. I need the money and I'm not going to get it if I don't go in."
Business groups are calling this kind of legislation unfair and expensive. They say the vast majority of businesses offer sick time and employers encourage workers with H1N1 to stay home.
In fact, University of Chicago researchers say 68 percent of workers without sick days admit going to work with contagious illness.
But even people who have sick days go to work -- 53 percent, according to researchers.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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