Employers Oppose Bill to Mandate Seven Sick Days
By Michael Norton and Gintautas Dumcius
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE
BOSTON, OCT. 7, 2009 - As state officials caution those with flu
symptoms to stay away from workplaces, a report released Wednesday shows
more than 1.4 million workers in Massachusetts lack any paid sick days,
forcing them to regularly choose between tending to their own health
needs and foregoing needed income.
According to Dr. Jonathan Heller, director of Human Impact Partners and
co-author of the report, guaranteed paid sick days would reduce the
spread of pandemic and seasonal flu, reduce emergency room usage,
protect the public from contracting illnesses in restaurants and nursing
homes, and enable workers to stay home when they are sick or need to
care for an ailing family member. Access to paid sick days would also
lead to less turnover within businesses, he said.
The report was partially funded by the Blue Cross Blue Shield of
Massachusetts Foundation, whose mission is to expand access to health
care. It was released by a coalition pushing bills guaranteeing that all
workers may earn a minimum of seven paid sick days a year.
The bills have extensive support in both branches, with near-majorities
signed on as official cosponsors, including many members of the
leadership teams of House Speaker Robert DeLeo and Senate President
Therese Murray.
Under the bill, workers would accrue one hour of paid sick time for
every 30 hours worked. "It'd be good for employers," said Robert Haynes,
president of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO. "It doesn't make sense to have
anyone at work who's unproductive. It really isn't a major economic
issue for employers."
But business groups on Beacon Hill, including the Retailers Association
of Massachusetts and Associated Industries of Massachusetts, expressed
opposition to the bill. Many employers say sick leave policy decisions
should be left to employers and worry that a mandate will add to a list
of high Massachusetts-only business costs.
"I think business is really concerned about the potential additional
cost of it at a time they're struggling to make ends meet," said Eileen
McAnenny, senior vice president at AIM, which says paid sick day
mandates are in place in only three cities - Milwaukee, San
Francisco, and Washington D.C.
In state government, paid sick days are agreed upon during collective
bargaining for employees who are in unions and left to the discretion of
supervisors in cases involving non-unionized employees.
The two proposals (H 1815 and S 688) are before the Joint Committee on
Labor and Workforce Development. At a hearing Wednesday, Rep. Ellen
Story (D-Amherst) said that "if ever there were a year to pass this bill
this is it with the current swine flu" situation.
Committee co-chairman Sen. Thomas McGee said he has heard stories about
ill constituents who have lost their jobs and concerns from business
groups about the poor economic climate. "There's no easy answers," McGee
said.
Asked about the potential for abuses of a paid sick day policies, Haynes
said, "We're talking about productive workers. People are generally
good. There are a few bad apples in every bushel basket."
Dr. Anita Barry of the Boston Public Health Commission said a 2006
universal health care law has not led to a decrease in use of emergency
rooms and called some ER visits "avoidable costs" that could come down
if more workers had paid sick days.
A top state official said paid sick days would help stop swine flu
transmission. "In order to stop the transmission of communicable
diseases, such as H1N1, and other infectious diseases, people need time
off to take care of themselves and their family members," said Andy
Epstein, special assistant to the commissioner of the Massachusetts
Department of Public Health.
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