Senator Sherrod Brown introduces "Paid Sick Days" legislation due to coronavirus
CINCINNATI (WKRC) - United States Senator Sherrod Brown introduced an emergency paid sick days legislation to provide workers in Ohio paid sick days in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
The legislation called the "Paid Sick Days for Public Health Emergencies and Personal Family Care Act", requires all employers to allow workers to accrue seven days of paid sick days and provide another 14 days immediately in the event of any public health emergency. The coronavirus, of course, is one such public health emergency.
“Our office has been getting calls from workers asking us, what do I do if I come down with something, and I have to choose between going to work while I’m sick, or losing a paycheck or losing my job? It’s unacceptable that millions of people are faced with that impossible choice. It’s a Dignity of Work issue, and it’s a public safety issue,” said Brown.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advise those who are sick to stay home. For many workers, including restaurant workers, truck drivers, service industry workers and more, staying home from work may mean missing out on a paycheck or even losing a job.
“This bill addresses the needs of our most vulnerable workers, both in the face of the current public health emergency and in the future, recognizing that illness and caretaking matters impact all of us, and shouldn’t risk a family’s economic stability," said Holly Hankinson, Advocacy Director of the Women’s Fund of the Greater Cincinnati Foundation.
According to a release from Sen. Brown, specifically, this bill would:
- Require all employers to allow workers to gradually earn seven days of paid sick leave.
- Require all employers to provide an additional 14 paid sick days, available immediately at the beginning of a public health emergency, including the current coronavirus crisis.
- Ensure paid sick leave covers days when a child’s school is closed due to a public health emergency, when an employer is closed due to a public health emergency, or if an individual or family member is quarantined or isolated due to a public health emergency.
