Don't We All Deserve A Healthy Workplace?


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Unfortunately, for many of us, a healthy workplace is just not the reality. If the H1N1 pandemic taught us anything, it is that sick workers and sick children should stay home while sick. Unfortunately, the vast majority of low-wage workers in Minnesota, those who serve our food, care for our children and provide many other services that we rely on, receive no paid time to care for their or their children’s health and remove their contagious illness from the workplace.

Coming to work sick results in decreased productivity and endangers public health, especially for those who are regularly in close contact with the public. Workers who take time off face discipline and even firing by their employers and, especially in tough economic times, when a worker misses a days wages, if often means choosing to go hungry or fall behind on bills. 

A worker who is forced to come to work sick, is not only personally degraded, but endangers the health of the public! If we truly care about the health of our community and our economy, we must implement minimum standards for paid sick leave. The Public Health Protection Act will allow every working person time to care for themselves and their family.

Paid sick time will increase productivity at work, decrease workforce turnover, and most importantly, allow all of us to be responsible members of the community by no longer being forced to put others at risk of sickness. The Minnesota Paid Sick Days Coalition is a group of concerned citizens and organizations that is working to protect the Public Health and preserve the dignity of Minnesotans. It’s time to do what’s best for our health, our economy, and our community!

Paid sick days standards save businesses money
A modest plan for a minimum paid sick days standard in Minnesota—like the one outlined above—would save $10.34 per worker per week. These savings would come from reduced turnover, lower productivity losses for sick workers on the job, avoiding relatives’ short-term nursing home stays, and a healthier workforce. Costs for wages, payroll taxes, and administrative expenses would be much lower: $7.38 per worker per week.

Paid sick days alliances across America

In 2006, San Francisco became the first locality in the nation to guarantee paid sick days for all its workers. Since then, a national paid sick days movement has grown. Advocates in more than a dozen states as well as on Capitol Hill advanced paid sick days initiatives in 2008. Washington, DC and Milwaukee, WI became the second and third in the nation to pass paid sick days, and the first to include safe days for victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking. In 2010, there are more than fifteen active campaigns across the country. Use the map below to find the latest information on your state. For a PDF document of all the active paid sick days campaigns, click here.

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