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U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown
Guaranteeing
Ohioans Paid Sick Leave
Each day, workers across the country face impossible dilemmas. Do they
go into work knowing the risks to their own health and to others around
them, or do they stay home and lose a paycheck? Do they send a sick
child to school, knowing they’re risking the health of their daughter
and her entire classroom, or do they jeopardize their job by taking a
day off to care for her?
This is a choice too many families face, and it needs to end. No one
should have to choose between a paycheck and a sick child, or taking
care of her health.
That’s why I am fighting to pass the Healthy Families Act, which would
allow workers to earn up to seven days per year in paid sick time.
Guaranteeing paid sick and family leave to all Americans would protect
public health and increase economic security for millions of families.
Nearly two million Ohioans—45 percent of our workforce—currently have
no paid sick leave.
Not only does this affect their own health, but these workers are often
working in service jobs where they risk infecting others. Adults
without paid sick days are one and a half times more likely than adults
with paid sick days to report going to work with a contagious illness,
according to the National Partnership for Women & Families. With
more than 8,800 Ohioans hospitalized because of the flu this year, it’s
more important than ever that we control the spread of infectious
diseases at work.
This plan is good for both workers and businesses. Employers already
providing sick time would not have to change their policies, as long as
they meet the minimum requirements. Businesses with fewer than fifteen
employees would be exempt from having to provide paid sick days. We
know that when workers are healthy, they are more productive. And
providing paid sick days decreases turnover and gives employers safer,
healthier, and more stable workplaces.
That’s why the National Partnership for Women & Families and more
than 100 employers support this legislation.
For too many Americans a sick day means a day without pay, and that
needs to end.
Sincerely,
Sherrod Brown
U.S. Senator
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