Legislation is pending that will require employers with 15 or more full-time employees to provide at least seven paid sick days a year -- a benefit 86 million working Americans don't have. That's nearly half the American workforce!
Paid sick days are especially crucial for working women. Around 40 percent of the private sector workplace don't receive any paid sick days. That includes more than 22 million women. And low-wage earners are hit especially hard, with well over half of them having no paid sick days at all.
This isn't just unfair. This is a public health issue that directly affects you and your loved ones. Many workers in industries that require constant contact with the public -- including 86 percent of all workers in the food, child care, nursing and retail industries -- don't have this basic health care benefit.
Urge your senator to support the Healthy Families Act!
We took action on “Demand Paid Sick Days for American Workers”!
# 10,109:
7:05 pm PST, Nov 18,Sarah Stirling, Massachusetts
# 10,108:
3:31 pm PST, Nov 18,Karisa Cotter, Arkansas
# 10,107:
7:08 pm PST, Nov 17,Joel Bradley, Colorado
# 10,106:
4:57 pm PST, Nov 17,Ellie Shain, California
# 10,105:
9:19 am PST, Nov 15,Whitney P, Virginia
# 10,104:
1:18 pm PST, Nov 14,Lisa Johnson, Texas
I am one of these women. I am a full-time employee with part-time status. The part-time status means I do not get the benefits of a full-time employee, including paid sick time. My employer will work me full time hours until the system is about to change my status. Then I can't get more than 29 hours until the risk of them having to give me the benefits I deserve is gone. Most employers now refuse to hire full-time people because they will have to pay the benefits. But they will still work you as though you were full-time.
Due to our attendance policy, if you miss three days in six months, you are coached. If you miss six days, you are fired. So not only do I not have paid sick days, I have to worry about losing my job if I get sick for more than a few days.
Please help. Please change the laws that let employers get away with these tactics.
# 10,103:
8:33 am PST, Nov 13,Theresia Cronan, California
# 10,102:
12:53 pm PST, Nov 5,V. Anderson, Hawaii
# 10,101:
7:02 am PST, Nov 5,Patricia Tidy, Arizona
# 10,100:
6:56 am PST, Nov 4,Amy McAdoo, Tennessee
# 10,099:
6:30 pm PST, Nov 3,Name not displayed, Florida
# 10,098:
5:39 am PST, Nov 3,Carrie Baquie, Maryland
# 10,097:
7:38 pm PDT, Oct 29,L Gols, Massachusetts
# 10,096:
12:12 pm PDT, Oct 29,Liliana Pulvirenti, Maryland
# 10,095:
6:45 am PDT, Oct 29,Jeff Bay, New York
# 10,094:
4:45 pm PDT, Oct 27,Shelly Sernett, Minnesota
# 10,093:
1:45 pm PDT, Oct 26,Carole and Paul Dyer, Arizona
# 10,092:
10:34 am PDT, Oct 26,Name not displayed, Colorado
# 10,091:
6:59 pm PDT, Oct 22,Candice Barnett, California
# 10,090:
6:40 pm PDT, Oct 21,Caro Liu, Pennsylvania
# 10,089:
6:33 am PDT, Oct 21,Name not displayed, Ohio
Thank you for your time and for supporting this legislation!
# 10,088:
10:02 pm PDT, Oct 20,Lisa Rains, Ohio
# 10,087:
9:23 pm PDT, Oct 20,Name not displayed, Texas
The owner of the business I work for does not provide us with paid sick days. He would not let me come in last week due to me having the seasonal flu. I am now out an entire week of pay. As a mother, I am very concerned about this, because if my son gets sick and I have to miss more work I will no longer be able to keep a roof over our heads. I think every company big and small should provide their staff with paid sick days. If they demand you to stay home and get better, they should compensate you for it. The company I work for only has 6 staff members including myself and the owners. I think it's ridiculous they won't pay us for sick days just because they want to save some money! Please help our working citizens to be able to continue to care for our families!!
# 10,086:
8:56 pm PDT, Oct 19,Alison Halm, Illinois
Use the power that you have been 'given' to do something for the common good! C'mon, do something that would make your mother proud of you again.
# 10,085:
9:28 am PDT, Oct 19,Mary M Payne, California
# 10,084:
9:26 am PDT, Oct 17,Elaine Alfaro, California
# 10,083:
9:33 pm PDT, Oct 16,Name not displayed, Maine
# 10,082:
7:38 pm PDT, Oct 16,Amy Danzeisen, Minnesota
# 10,081:
10:06 am PDT, Oct 16,Name not displayed, Colorado
# 10,080:
5:11 am PDT, Oct 16,MARYLOU COSBY, Florida
# 10,079:
3:35 am PDT, Oct 16,Julie Dunn LSW, Ohio
# 10,078:
6:58 pm PDT, Oct 15,Barbaba Quincy, Pennsylvania
# 10,077:
6:05 pm PDT, Oct 15,Charles Marhoefer, Pennsylvania
# 10,076:
5:00 pm PDT, Oct 15,Nicole Gooden, Nevada
# 10,075:
2:16 pm PDT, Oct 15,Marcia Lehman, Pennsylvania
# 10,074:
12:58 pm PDT, Oct 15,DORET KOLLERER, California
# 10,073:
12:50 pm PDT, Oct 15,Carole Hagen, Oregon
# 10,072:
11:19 am PDT, Oct 15,Cheri Velto, Pennsylvania
My employer designates only 2 of my allowable 10 paid sick days as available for care of family members. This puts me in a position of lying to my employer, or not keeping an ill child home per both physician's recommendation and school rules. Please be sure to draft legislation which benefits employees with sick days as well as providing sick leave to those without.
# 10,071:
6:13 pm PDT, Oct 14,Sheryl Ashworth, Georgia
# 10,070:
4:20 pm PDT, Oct 14,Sania Parekh, Texas
This is so important for the control of disease spread, and also for general welfare of employees.
# 10,069:
6:38 pm PDT, Oct 13,Joy Manz, New York
This is an issue that requires addressing in order to ensure public health and child welfare.
# 10,068:
11:54 am PDT, Oct 13,Mary j Cox, Michigan
If children are sent to school with the virus,we will have a serious epidemic of swine flu. We will also have closed schools and this will effect the quality of our education programs. Our greedy corporations and businessmen in general refuse to provide this service to their employees. Most of the other industrial countries in the world provide this benefit to their employees. I would hope that our Representatives and Senators that constantly wrap themselves in the mantel of family values are promoting the The Healthy Families Act.
# 10,067:
9:35 am PDT, Oct 13,Eileen Hale, California
# 10,066:
8:51 am PDT, Oct 13,Nicole Picard, Colorado
At LEAST 7 days, having a family shouldn't mean fear of losing job security beacause of illness. I own a small business in Denver Co and we have 5 full time employees. We are able to provide for maternity leave, sick days, and paid vacations. We're not rich and we don't have business degrees, we chose to do the right thing for our community, always, and we have never been busier or healthier! PLease consider this seriouslt, it can and will work for small business owners and companies and it will mean a happier less stressful workplace for all. Blessings.
# 10,065:
8:46 am PDT, Oct 13,Margo Shafer, California
# 10,064:
5:51 am PDT, Oct 13,Deirdre Mahon, New Jersey
Dear Senator,
As your constituent, I am greatly disturbed that nearly half of American private-sector workers, including 22 million women, have no paid sick days. Paid sick days aren't just good for families, they're good for business.
According to recent research, The Healthy Families Act could actually save money by reducing turnover and the number of workers who come to work sick. At least 147 countries around the world provide paid sick days -- with
127 of them providing a week or more annually. Seven paid sick days is not too much to ask for in America -- and I urge you to support this bill.
Sincerely,
Deirdre Mahon
# 10,063:
9:32 pm PDT, Oct 12,Sherry Shen, Arizona
# 10,062:
8:30 pm PDT, Oct 12,Name not displayed, New York
# 10,061:
8:22 pm PDT, Oct 12,Sarah Tracey, Michigan
# 10,060:
7:50 pm PDT, Oct 12,Cassandra Hautala, Wisconsin
# 10,059:
7:23 pm PDT, Oct 12,April Bradley, Illinois
# 10,058:
7:21 pm PDT, Oct 12,Sarah Stephens, West Virginia
# 10,057:
6:36 pm PDT, Oct 12,Gloria Goldschmidt, Pennsylvania
# 10,056:
6:36 pm PDT, Oct 12,Rachael Horton, Indiana
# 10,055:
5:57 pm PDT, Oct 12,Kelly Argeros, Florida
# 10,054:
4:58 pm PDT, Oct 12,Jean Wentz, Wisconsin
My husband has no paid sick days and he works for a large company. He has cancelled both his annual physical and his six-month dental check-ups for the past two years because he gets no paid time off for these appointments. He works a lot of overtime as it is, so he says he does not have time to take care of himself and then make up the lost hours on top of it.
# 10,053:
4:15 pm PDT, Oct 12,Jennifer Stephens, Montana
# 10,052:
4:00 pm PDT, Oct 12,Name not displayed, Pennsylvania
