SENATE BILL: Medical Leave and Compensation Act of 2021 (Passed)

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

AN ACT
To protect the health of Atlasian workers and the wider community
Be it enacted in both houses of Congress

Section 1: Title
1. This legislation may be cited as the "Medical Leave and Compensation Act of 2021"
Section 2: Amendment to the Coronavirus Containment and Emergency Response Act
1. Section 5b of the legislation is amended as follows-
"(b.) All employers must allow their workers to accrue seven at least ten annual days of paid sick leave, with an additional fourteen days available immediately in the event of public health emergencies.
2. A new clause shall be added to section 5 of the legislation-
"All employed people in Atlasia who are self-isolating to avoid spreading Covid-19, where required by law, shall be paid by the government their full wage for the entirety of their period of their required isolation."
a) This payment shall also apply if an individual misses at least one full day of work while self-isolating while waiting for the results of a Covid-19 test, even if they are not legally required to self-isolate.
b) This payment shall be capped at $45 an hour.
3. All persons who receive a notification from the DefeatCoronavirus app asking them to self-isolate, are otherwise notified by government contact tracers, or otherwise receive a positive Covid-19 test, shall be required to self-isolate for the following periods-
a) Five days, if they take a Covid-19 test five days or later into their self-isolation and that test result comes back negative.
b) Otherwise, fourteen days, or-if this is later than fourteen days-until they recover from Covid-19.
Section 3; Miscarriage Bereavement Leave
1. All employed people in Atlasia shall be entitled to up to three days of bereavement leave in the following circumstances-
a) On the unplanned end of their pregnancy through a miscarriage or still-birth, where this is not the result of use of abortion services.
b) On the unplanned end of another person's pregnancy through a miscarriage or still-birth, where this is not the result of the use of abortion services, in these circumstances-
i) Where they are the person's spouse or partner.
ii) Where they would have been the biological parent of a child born as a result of the pregnancy.
iii) Where they had officially undertaken to be the primary carer of a child born as a result of the pregnancy.
iv) Where they are the spouse or partner of a person who had officially undertaken to be the primary carer of a child born as a result of the pregnancy.
Section 4; Compensation for Live Organ Donors
1. "Qualifying donor" is a person who satisfies these conditions-
a) they will forgo earnings as a result of taking unpaid leave or otherwise ceasing employment to allow for their recuperation from the surgery
b) both the donor surgery and the surgery to implant the organ will be carried out in Atlasia
c) the organ will be collected, implanted, and dealt with lawfully
2. A qualifying donor is entitled to receive up to twelve weeks worth of compensation from the federal government for recovering from surgery after donating an organ.
a) The compensation may be ceased when the qualifying donor either returns to employment or is medically certified to be fit to return to their employment, even if this is earlier than twelve weeks after the surgery.
3. Compensation may be given before the surgery where the qualifying donor undertakes activities in preparation for the surgery if-
a) they would not reasonably be able to undertake these activities without taking leave from their employment for that period, and
b) these activities are medically necessary for the surgery to be successfully carried out.
4. All compensation legislated for in this section shall be set at the level of the qualifying donor's full wage for the period.
a) The compensation shall be capped at $45 an hour.
Section 5; Implementation
1. All provisions of this legislation shall come into effect immediately upon its passage into law.
2. No provision of this legislation shall expire at any declared end of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Sponsor: Pericles
Senate Designation: SB29:21

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

The sponsor has 24 hours to commence advocacy and the other members have 48 hours to respond.

[Pericles]

This is based on several New Zealand ideas.
-The increase in sick leave really is a no-brainer. We want people to be able to stay home when they are sick, rather than spreading illness around the community.
-People not self isolating when they are supposed to has been a consistent problem in the Covid pandemic. Ultimately, this has cost lives and spread Covid deeper into the community. This is based on an idea by the NZ National Party actually, so that people can afford to self-isolate.
-2(3) just clarifies the legal situation, so that people are actually required to self-isolate. Hopefully we can all agree that freedom to infect others with Covid isn't a sacred right.
-The miscarriage bereavement leave is based on world-leading legislation passed in New Zealand, this is a compassionate measure.
-The organ donor part is designed to remove the financial disincentive to donate organs, so hopefully more organ donations will be available. This is based on a bill by a New Zealand National Party MP, and organ donations appear to have increased afterwards.

Taken together, these are compassionate measures that will produce better health outcomes and pay for themselves through the economic benefit of those better health outcomes.

[Pericles]

For 2(3), I realise I didn't add an actual penalty, so here is my amendment-

c) The maximum penalty per offence shall be a fine of $1,500 for a single period of required self isolation that is not followed, with the maximum penalty for repeat offenders (three or more breaches) being a fine of $15,000.

This is roughly equivalent to the UK's fines, though the payment to self-isolate is much more important because most people in the UK don't actually self-isolate when they are supposed to.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Senators have 24 hours to object.

[SevenEleven]

This is a good and necessary bill. I support it as amended.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

The amendment is adopted.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Next actions here?

[Blair]

This bill has my full support

[Left Wing]

I fully support the bill. The sick leave extension will be a good step in our current economic climate.

[Spark]

I support this legislation to care for our most vulnerable.

[Pericles]

I motion for a final vote.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

A final vote is now open on this legislation Senators please vote Aye, Nay or Abstain.

[Blair]

AYE

[Pericles]

Aye

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Aye

[Left Wing]

Aye

[Spark]

Aye

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Vote on Final Passage of the Medical Leave and Compensation Act of 2021:

Aye (5): Blair, Falterin, NC Yankee, Pericles and Spark
Nay (0):
Abstain (0):

Didn't Vote (1): sev

This bill has passed the Senate and is sent to the VP for House action.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

AN ACT
To protect the health of Atlasian workers and the wider community
Be it enacted in both houses of Congress

Section 1: Title
1. This legislation may be cited as the "Medical Leave and Compensation Act of 2021"
Section 2: Amendment to the Coronavirus Containment and Emergency Response Act
1. Section 5b of the legislation is amended as follows-
"(b.) All employers must allow their workers to accrue seven at least ten annual days of paid sick leave, with an additional fourteen days available immediately in the event of public health emergencies.
2. A new clause shall be added to section 5 of the legislation-
"All employed people in Atlasia who are self-isolating to avoid spreading Covid-19, where required by law, shall be paid by the government their full wage for the entirety of their period of their required isolation."
a) This payment shall also apply if an individual misses at least one full day of work while self-isolating while waiting for the results of a Covid-19 test, even if they are not legally required to self-isolate.
b) This payment shall be capped at $45 an hour.
3. All persons who receive a notification from the DefeatCoronavirus app asking them to self-isolate, are otherwise notified by government contact tracers, or otherwise receive a positive Covid-19 test, shall be required to self-isolate for the following periods-
a) Five days, if they take a Covid-19 test five days or later into their self-isolation and that test result comes back negative.
b) Otherwise, fourteen days, or-if this is later than fourteen days-until they recover from Covid-19.
c) The maximum penalty per offense shall be a fine of $1,500 for a single period of required self isolation that is not followed, with the maximum penalty for repeat offenders (three or more breaches) being a fine of $15,000.
Section 3; Miscarriage Bereavement Leave
1. All employed people in Atlasia shall be entitled to up to three days of bereavement leave in the following circumstances-
a) On the unplanned end of their pregnancy through a miscarriage or still-birth, where this is not the result of use of abortion services.
b) On the unplanned end of another person's pregnancy through a miscarriage or still-birth, where this is not the result of the use of abortion services, in these circumstances-
i) Where they are the person's spouse or partner.
ii) Where they would have been the biological parent of a child born as a result of the pregnancy.
iii) Where they had officially undertaken to be the primary carer of a child born as a result of the pregnancy.
iv) Where they are the spouse or partner of a person who had officially undertaken to be the primary carer of a child born as a result of the pregnancy.
Section 4; Compensation for Live Organ Donors
1. "Qualifying donor" is a person who satisfies these conditions-
a) they will forgo earnings as a result of taking unpaid leave or otherwise ceasing employment to allow for their recuperation from the surgery
b) both the donor surgery and the surgery to implant the organ will be carried out in Atlasia
c) the organ will be collected, implanted, and dealt with lawfully
2. A qualifying donor is entitled to receive up to twelve weeks worth of compensation from the federal government for recovering from surgery after donating an organ.
a) The compensation may be ceased when the qualifying donor either returns to employment or is medically certified to be fit to return to their employment, even if this is earlier than twelve weeks after the surgery.
3. Compensation may be given before the surgery where the qualifying donor undertakes activities in preparation for the surgery if-
a) they would not reasonably be able to undertake these activities without taking leave from their employment for that period, and
b) these activities are medically necessary for the surgery to be successfully carried out.
4. All compensation legislated for in this section shall be set at the level of the qualifying donor's full wage for the period.
a) The compensation shall be capped at $45 an hour.
Section 5; Implementation
1. All provisions of this legislation shall come into effect immediately upon its passage into law.
2. No provision of this legislation shall expire at any declared end of the Covid-19 pandemic.

People's Regional Senate
Passed 5-0 in the Atlasian Senate Assembled,