Do you support a Universal Paid Sick Leave Program ?

[jojoju1998]

Do you support a Universal Paid Sick Leave Program ?

[jojoju1998]

Yes I do. One of the better left wing proposals out there.

I guess if you consider countries like Qatar and Singapore to be left-wing.

What's up with South Korea ??

[jojoju1998]

A policy that should have support of everyone that can get sick and has a child.  A strong PRO-FAMILY policy that most of the conservatives can endorse.  I don't know why it hasn't been implemented federally as a top priority.

Americans have always been proud adherents of the hustle and grind culture since at least the Industrial Revolution.*

"Sick?  It's all in the mind.  My grandpappy lost all his arms and legs in a corn thresher when he was 25 and he never missed a day's work til he retired."

"What do you mean you need several weeks off to have a baby?  Surely labor only takes a day or two?"

"Sure you have PTO hours available.  It tells you how many you have right there on your paycheck.  Just don't try and actually use them; we need all hands on deck here."

"Stay loyal to your job and they will always be loyal to you!"

"Remember, work hard, put in extra effort and long hours and your boss will always notice.  That's the only way to get a raise."

"Employees don't want more money, akshually.  What they really want is for their workplace to be like a family, with pizza parties and foosball tables!"

"You can't pay your rent?  Sucks to be you.  Just get a second job.  Oh, you already have one?  Okay then, a third.  Anyway, instead of renting you should have just bought a house in the 90s like I did."



* Go back any further than that and you start to find people grinding the hardest of all who, ahem, weren't getting paid for their labor at all…

Ironic you should say that because the large companies in the US, Netflix, Goldman Sachs, et cetera, are realizing, that since they're competing globally, they have to start offering benefits that are like... well every other country.

Goldman Sachs for example has 20 weeks of paid parental leave and 9 paid sick leave days. Penumbra ( a medical device company ) in California also has paid sick leave, and 12 weeks of parental leave.

The railword companies, and smaller companies are the odd ones out. And for whatever reason, teachers, police officers, firefighters. The public sector workers. At least in California.

[jojoju1998]

Obviously yes.

It's quite the norm here and no political party in Germany questions it, from left to right. None. You get up to six weeks paid sick leave here. In the few cases six weeks are exceeded, health insurance pays 70% of your previous net income.

The US unfortunately is lagging behind the rest of the world here, for literally no valid reason.

South Korea is the only other industrialized country without paid sick leave.


But it should be noted; that although it's not " mandated ", more and more companies are offering it.

[jojoju1998]

Every American worker should have 4 weeks consisting of paid vacation, sick leave, personal days at the bare minimum.

Agreed, and perhaps extend four weeks with increasing age. 24 days is also mandatory here, though 30 days is quite the norm. I have 30 days of paid vacation.

America is a variable.

Some companies offer 1 year paid maternity leave, 2 weeks sick leave, and near unlimited vacation time.

Some companies do not. Other companies have combined PTO, where sick leave, vacation leave, and maternity leave are all in one pot.

Teachers in California don't get any paid maternity leave while Federal employees do.

There's no federal mandate.

[jojoju1998]

Unionized labor falling off in America is also directly correlated to why Americans have lagged the world in work benefits. When unions get benefits for their members they tend to be applied broadly to everybody because it's just easier. So many of the benefits that American workers have historically enjoyed are because of unions and progressive politcal movements not because companies felt generous or the so called free market mandated better benefits.

Some big companies (including ones I've worked for) also offered fairly generous benefits because they were terrified their employees might start whispering the 'u' word amongst themselves if they didn't.  But that arrangement only works if the threat of unionization exists to begin with.

Ironically, many of the public sector jobs at least in California, don't have any paid maternity leave. And their sick leave provisions are frankly not that great.

[jojoju1998]

Unionized labor falling off in America is also directly correlated to why Americans have lagged the world in work benefits. When unions get benefits for their members they tend to be applied broadly to everybody because it's just easier. So many of the benefits that American workers have historically enjoyed are because of unions and progressive politcal movements not because companies felt generous or the so called free market mandated better benefits.

Some big companies (including ones I've worked for) also offered fairly generous benefits because they were terrified their employees might start whispering the 'u' word amongst themselves if they didn't.  But that arrangement only works if the threat of unionization exists to begin with.

 Also the reason they end up extending union negotiated benefits to most employees. You can't convince an employee that unions sucks when their members have numerous worker protections like paid days off, a safer workplace and you have squat.

My Dad had a coworker who wanted to take the rest of her vacation days, so that she could recharge and transition to her next job.

The owner fired her immediately.

[jojoju1998]

Yes.

How should the program be funded then ?

[jojoju1998]

Yes, but some smaller businesses might not be able to afford it.  So put a number on the number of employees a company must have before it is mandatory (I'm not going to).

The problem with that is if small businesses won't offer paid sick time as a benefit, they may struggle to compete with the bigger companies in the hiring market.  Rather than be exempted from a federal law mandating paid leave, the government would step in to cover the tab for businesses under a certain size.

Your first sentence is absolutely correct.  But that's always been the case with small businesses trying to compete for talent.  They don't have the money the big boys due for great pay and benefits.  However the smart small businesses will, if they can afford it, offer it.  For my part time assistant, I pay her when she's sick, and she's making much much more than her past job.  There are other perks she has too.  But it's my choice to do it and she's outstanding so I do what I need to not to lose her.

I'm just not in favor of a government mandate for small businesses (pick an employee count number to define it) or another government program, to be honest.  So I support it but I'm just not sure if it's doable. 

Most countries do it through a social security type system where everyone pays into it via payroll taxes.

Understood.  I don't see that every happening in reality here.  We'll see.

Gillibrand's paid family/sick leave plan involves payroll taxes.