Congress
Democrats want paid sick leave for millions of Americans in response to coronavirus
Two congressional Democrats are pushing for passage of new legislation that would guarantee workers paid sick leave as a means of containing the coronavirus.
The push comes amid concerns that individuals who aren’t offered paid sick leave benefits through their employers won’t stay home if they feel ill for fear of missing wages, even if they are displaying contagious coronavirus symptoms.
According to recent findings from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, one in three workers in the United States is not entitled to take paid sick leave. Eleven U.S. states and Washington, D.C., have paid sick leave laws.
“Workers want to do the right thing for themselves, their families, and their communities — so especially in the middle of public health crises like this, staying home sick shouldn’t have to mean losing a paycheck or a job,” Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., said in a statement.
Murray and Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., are the lead sponsors of the bill that would allow all workers to gradually earn seven days of paid sick leave and require employers to provide an additional 14 days of paid sick leave at the start of a public health crisis.
“Low-income workers and their families could be hit even harder by the virus, as low wage jobs are at the forefront of not providing sick leave benefits,” said DeLauro.
As of late Friday morning, there were 13 confirmed deaths in Washington state attributable to the coronavirus, which especially poses a high risk to individuals with compromised immune systems and the elderly. There has been one confirmed death in California and reported cases in 22 states, none of which are in DeLauro’s home state of Connecticut.
It was not clear whether congressional leadership will push the legislation forward or whether it would have Republican support.
In the Senate, Murray is the top Democrat on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee, but the chamber is controlled by Republicans, many of whom are resistant to mandatory paid sick leave policies they argue could stifle small businesses.
Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said this week that a federal law shouldn’t be necessary for employers to help stop the spread of the coronavirus.
“Sometimes things don’t require government action, they require people to be decent human beings and do the right thing,” Rubio said.
Rubio also cast doubt on whether bipartisan consensus for something like a paid sick leave policy would even be tenable at this point, given the country is already in the midst of the crisis.
“Something like that takes time to develop, we can’t pass that here in time with regards to this matter,” Rubio said. “But moving forward, I would say that I hope people do the right thing. We do it all the time in Florida, there’s a hurricane warning or a hurricane watch, places close and people know they’ve got to send their employees home to be able to work on their homes and so forth.”
In the Democratic-controlled House, there is likely more support for Murray and DeLauro’s bill, but not every Democrat thinks advancing the measure would be the best use of Congress’ time and energy as it considers what role it should play in helping stop the spread of the virus.
Rep. Donna Shalala, D-Fla., the former Secretary of Health and Human Services under President Bill Clinton, like Rubio, encouraged employers to do the right thing and let sick employees stay home without fear of missing paychecks.
But she also said government-backed sick leave is not a sufficient short-term solution as a response to the coronavirus outbreak.
“I think American business has to step up, it’s in their interest to extend sick leave if necessary but there are a lot of low-income people who have no sick leave,” said Shalala, a Miami lawmaker. “The labor force is tight and so it’s going to be in everybody’s interest to be very flexible on sick leave.”
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