A day after medical tests confirmed that a “norovirus” was responsible for the illnesses of more than 400 people who ate at a Chipotle restaurant in Kent, Ohio, the Ohioans for Healthy Families coalition has posted a video on its website in which average people in that city talk about the need for paid sick days.
A link to the video is at www.sickdaysohio.org. For the latest news on the cause of the Kent outbreak, see http://www.recordpub.com/news/article/3682852.
After more than 270,000 voters signed petitions supporting it, the Ohio Healthy Families Act (a bill allowing workers to earn paid sick days) has been pending in the Ohio General Assembly since early January. Despite a looming May 8 deadline, the House has held just one hearing, Republican leaders who control the Assembly say they oppose the bill, and no vote has been scheduled.
Said Coalition spokesman Dale Butland:
“ The Chipotle situation in Kent proves what we’ve been saying all along: paid sick days are important not just to workers and their families, but also to public health. It is our understanding that Chipotle workers who prepare and handle food have no paid sick days. As a result, an employee who could not afford to miss a day’s pay apparently came to work ill. Now over 450 customers have paid the price, with more “secondary cases” of illness being reported every day.
Opponents say paid sick days would be too costly. But as we’re seeing in Kent, not having them is even more expensive. How much did it cost that restaurant to close for a day while it disinfected the premises? What is it costing their customers and the public at large? And make no mistake: Chipotle is just the tip of the iceberg. Well over 300,000 other restaurant employees in Ohio don’t have any paid sick days either. As a result, eating out means playing Russian roulette with our families’ health.”
Front Page, NewsPosted by SickDaysOhio.org on April 25, 2008
Take care of your sick child... or get paid?
Help your ailing mother... or keep your job?
Stay home because you have the flu... or go to work sick?
These are the kinds of tough choices almost half of hard-working Ohioans are faced with because their employers don't allow them to earn paid sick days.
The Ohio Healthy Families Act is a proposed new state law that would make our state one of the most family-friendly in the nation. The Act would require businesses with 25 or more workers to allow full-time employees to earn 7 paid sick days per year. Part-time workers could earn a smaller, pro-rated number of paid sick days depending on the number of hours they work.
The Healthy Families Act would ensure middle-class workers—the backbone of Ohio's economy—have the opportunity to earn paid sick days. Full-time workers would earn 7 days a year and part-time workers would earn a pro-rated amount, based on the number of hours worked.
Although we have been diligent in pressuring the Ohio General Assembly to pass the Ohio Healthy Famlies Act, it increasingly seems clear that we will need to gather signatures to take the bill before the voters in this November's General Election.
Can you gather 100 signatures to help make a difference for Ohio?
We will continue to pressure the Legislature through May 7th. After that, we have just 90 days to gather over 120,000 valid signatures - so we'll need the help of everyone who supports paid Sick Days!
Click here to pledge to be a "super volunteer" and collect 100 signatures!
Ready to help spread the word about paid sick days for Ohio families?
If you've got a website or a blog, just copy and paste one line of HTML, and you'll have all the latest headlines from SickDaysOhio.org at your fingertips. Here is what it looks like:
Columbus, Ohio OCT 2---- Policy Matters Ohio released the results of a study detailing the range of opportunities afforded working Ohioans to earn paid sick days.
"A Healthy Standard: Paid Sick Days in Ohio," describes the current state of paid sick days in Ohio in which nearly half of all workers have no opportunity to earn paid sick days. Among the findings were that a significant number of jobs involving personal contact, such as the food services and retail sectors, lack paid sick days. Also, a significant number of labor intensive jobs in manufacturing and construction lack paid sick days.
The report noted that, rather than a burden, earned paid sick days as provided for by the Ohio Healthy Families Act would have an economic benefit to employers of approximately $1.25 per employee per week. In light of the 2.2 million Ohio workers who can not earn paid sick days, Ohio's economy would stand to gain a substantial competitive advantage each work week under the Healthy Families Act.
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Comments
Posted by Kay at April 27, 2008 9:35 PM
I feel it is an absolute necessity to have paid sick days, so people don't have to be subjected to someone's illness and lack of hygiene. It is already appalling how many people walk out of the restroom without washing their hands after using the restroom, nevermind being sick and handling peoples' food! Now the employers can implement them voluntarily before it becomes even more costly or pay the price of additional costs from future lawsuits for the consequences.