H1N1 Flu Fuels Push for Paid Leave

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the Arkansas Department of Health and even President Barack Obama have told anyone with swine flu-like symptoms to stay at home. But for many American workers, that directive poses a problem: if they don’t go to work, they don’t get paid.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 39 percent of workers do not receive paid sick leave. About 47 percent of Arkansas workers, 450,000 Arkansans, are not able to take a paid sick day when they are ill.

Recently, the H1N1 pandemic has fueled Congressional efforts to enact legislation that would provide guaranteed paid sick days to millions of workers.

The Healthy Families Act was introduced in the Senate last May by Edward Kennedy and in the house by Connecticut Democrat Rosa DeLauro. In the Senate, Christopher J. Dodd, D-Conn., has become the bill’s chief sponsor.

The act would require employers with 15 or more employees to earn at least one hour of paid sick time for every 30 hours worked.

The legislation received an endorsement from the Obama administration in November.

Another bill, the Emergency Influenza Act, was introduced in the House on Nov. 3. The measure calls for up to five days of paid sick leave, if an employer directs the employee to stay home. The bill would sunset after two years.

A third bill, the Pandemic Protection for Workers, Families and Businesses Act, which was introduced in the Senate and the House on Nov. 17, would allow employees seven paid sick days for a two-year period.

Darrin Coon, president-elect of the Northwest Arkansas Human Resources Association, said he’s opposed to the legislation because the majority of businesses already offer paid sick leave and vacation benefits.

There’s a lot of concern, he said, that the bill would require businesses to offer paid sick leave in addition to benefits already being offered.

“One more federal mandate that’s unfunded in addition to the benefits that are already being offered, is not something that seems to be a wise move in the middle of a recession,” Coon said. “If we add to the list of unfunded mandates, the pressure is going to have to go somewhere, and the concern is that it would go to an increase in consumer prices and could even worsen unemployment levels.”

Coon said businesses need flexibility as opposed to one-size-fits-all legislation when it comes to employee benefits.

“What I’ve seen is if an employer doesn’t treat their employees with respect and dignity when they’re going through a hard time, they’re usually going to lose those employees,” he said. “There is a natural market-based correction factor that happens when an employer doesn’t take care of their employees.”

For those businesses that don’t offer any paid sick leave, Coon said he recommends they take a close look at their employee benefits and examine how they could improve them.

“But it should be done on a voluntary basis, rather than on a federal mandate,” he said.

Coon said he believes existing sick leave policies are sufficient for employees that contract the H1N1 virus.

“I believe most organizations would allow their employees to use existing sick leave time to care for themselves or a family member,” he said. “There is also paid vacation time that can be used and legislation that is already in place called the Family and Medical Leave Act.”

The FMLA requires employers to grant qualified employees up to 12 weeks of sick leave to care for themselves or family members. But it does not require them to pay employees during that time.

Coon said some businesses are putting policies in place, however, that offer up to half or three-quarters of an employee’s pay while they are on sick leave. Some employers will even cover 100 percent of their pay, he said.

“A best practice is to establish a sick leave bank whereby employees contribute to a common pool of available days,” Coon said. “Then, when someone needs more time than their annual allotment they draw from the common pool.

“This creates a win-win.  The employer can control budgets and the employee can take care of themselves or sick family members without missing pay. This voluntary arrangement is strongly preferred to new federal mandates.”

But proponents of the legislation say it’s the best way to protect workers and slow the spread of the H1N1 virus. The legislation would particularly help low-wage workers in service-oriented jobs, according to the National Partnership for Women and Families.

Data from the U.S. Department of Labor shows that just 22 percent of workers in the lowest 10 percent by wage income receive paid sick leave, compared with 86 percent of workers in the highest 25 percent of wage earners.

Those in service-type industries are also less likely to receive the benefit, with 49 percent of workers having paid sick days compared with 86 percent of workers in management or professional-type jobs.

Advocates also point out that the United States lags behind other nations in offering workplace benefits.

Of the world’s 15 most economically competitive nations, the United States is the only one that doesn’t offer guaranteed paid leave. According to a recently released study from researchers at McGill University and the Harvard School of Public Health, 163 nations mandate paid sick leave.

Micah Neal, manager of Neal’s Café in Springdale, said the legislation is good in theory, but for small businesses, it presents a challenge.

“In restaurants, especially right now, you don’t have excess employment,” he said. “So you’re paying the person who’s out sick and you also have to bring in another individual, someone who’s already got their full-time hours, so you’re going to be paying overtime to that person.

“It just kills your bottom line.” 

Neal said small businesses would be hurt the worst by the legislation.

“The more regulations put on small businesses like myself, the less incentive there is to say in business,” he said.

Neal is not alone in his thinking.

Several organizations, including the American Hotel & Lodging Association, the National Small Business Association, and the Associated Builders and Contractors, have expressed their opposition to paid leave mandates.

The groups recently wrote a letter to George Miller, the chairman of the House Committee on Education and Labor, regarding the Emergency Influenza Containment Act.

“As our economy begins to recover from the most severe recession since the Great Depression, businesses need to maintain flexibility in order to survive, grow and provide jobs in the face of ongoing challenges, including the potential impact of contagious illnesses such as H1N1,” the letter reads. “A one-size-fits-all paid leave mandate that is applied to the broad, diverse industries that make up our nation’s marketplace would negatively impact all employers, including small businesses, and limit our ability to retain and create new jobs.”