John Petro

City Council Must Pass Earned Paid Sick Time Bill

The Drum Major Institute for Public Policy offers its full endorsement of the earned paid sick time bill introduced today by Councilwoman Gale Brewer. With swine flu looming on the horizon and nearly a million working people in this city forced to go to work sick because they get no paid sick days, the bill could not have come at a better time.

But now that the bill has been introduced, it needs to be passed--and quickly. There is no reason for any City Council member to oppose it. Guaranteeing paid sick time is a policy with a proven track record, especially in San Francisco, where 100,000 working people gained the right to get sick in 2007. Employment in San Francisco did not suffer after the law was passed. In fact, the hospitality and restaurant industries, where the largest number of employees received the benefit for the first time, continued to see strong job growth. Researchers have found that paid sick days produce a net gain of $12.5 million annually in San Francisco by decreasing employee turnover, improving productivity, and reducing the spread of illness. Healthy workers and healthy businesses coexist. What's not to like?

For more of our analysis of the benefits of paid sick days, check out this section of our recent report, No More Delay: Proven Policy Solutions for New York City.

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Posted at 11:14 AM, Aug 20, 2009 in Employment | Urban Affairs
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