Even though coming to work sick is unhealthy – for the worker, for coworkers and anyone
the sick person comes into contact with – millions of Americans are at their jobs when they should be home in bed or at the doctor’s office.
That’s the conclusion of a new poll by NSF International, which found more than 25 percent of workers come to work while sick. You can read the story here.
Many of those workers don’t have paid sick leave and said they can’t afford to stay home, according to the survey.
Other workers – 25 percent – said they work while sick due to pressure from their bosses, who expect them to show up no matter what.
To tackle this problem here in Washington state, House Democrats introduced legislation to give all workers paid sick leave. House Bill 1313 by Rep. Laurie Jinkins (D-Tacoma) passed 52-45 and is now being considered in the Senate.
According to the story, a strong majority of Americans supports the idea of paid sick leave for all workers:
A HuffPost YouGov poll last year found that 74 percent of Americans believe employers should be required to offer sick leave, while only 18 percent said they shouldn’t be required to do so. Respondents in that poll also supported a mandate for paid maternity leave by a margin of 61 to 27 percent.