For most Americans, the Fourth of July is a day for fireworks, concerts, parades and all manner of patriotic displays. It's as American as barbecue ribs and apple pie.
While many enjoy a paid day off for the holiday, not everyone is so lucky. Paid days off from work are rare. When it's a holiday, at least the time off is taken for fun, but when employees need time off for illness or care-giving, even fewer can afford it.
Nearly 60 million American workers lack a single paid sick day to care for themselves when occasional illness strikes. Those who must go to work sick not only jeopardize their own well-being but also threaten the public health. In early June, the World Health Organization announced that the world is officially in the grip of a global H1N1 swine flu pandemic. In light of the U.S. outbreak, President Barack Obama and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention previously stated that those with flu symptoms should stay home from school and work, see a doctor and avoid public contact until they recover.
But American workers without paid sick days cannot stay home because they risk losing their jobs. This is no inconsequential threat when you consider the impact on the public health.
And neither is it inconsequential when you consider the impact of the lack of paid sick days on working families generally - especially in these trying economic times.
Consider Asha C., a young mother in Milwaukee, Wis. As a temporary hire, Asha had no paid sick days and could be fired for missing work - even if she or her children were ill. One day, she was sick and called in to say that she would be late that day. Asha came to work one hour late. Two men escorted her to a large meeting room. They informed her that she was fired. The employer's actions not only caused her to lose her job but to miss payment of her rent and other household bills. It took a while for Asha to find another job. The second, like the first, included no paid sick days.
It's stories like Asha's that add urgency to the need for paid sick time.
This is about working families. This is also about staying competitive as a nation in the global economy. Nineteen of the 20 most competitive countries in the world guarantee paid sick days. The United States is the odd one out.
It's great to celebrate our country's history and values. But for the celebrating to be truly authentic, every American worker must have paid sick days.
Rosemary Harris Lytle is public relations coordinator of 9to5, National Association of Working Women. Column provided by the American Forum.
