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House Democrats Introduce Swine Flu Paid Sick Days Bill
Wednesday, November 11, 2009

With concerns rising over too many people with the H1N1 virus going to work anyway, Democrats in Congress have introduced legislation to guarantee employees a certain amount of paid sick leave. The Emergency Influenza Containment Act will guarantee up to five paid sick days for workers felled by the flu, in order to minimize the risk of spreading the illness among other workers. According to figures compiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 72% of part-time workers, 37% of non-union workers and 18% of union workers are not allowed any paid sick days.

Introduced by Representatives George Miller (D-CA) and Lynn Woolsey (D-CA), the bill would take effect 15 days after being signed into law, and would automatically expire in two years. The plan covers both full-time and part-time employees in businesses with 15 or more workers. The act also allows employees to stay out longer without pay as permitted under the Family Medical Leave Act or company policies.

-Noel Brinkerhoff

House Democrats Introduce H1N1 Economic Vaccine (by Brett Brownell, Today’s Workplace)

Emergency Influenza Containment Act (Library of Congress)

Comments

Nicole Belson Goluboff - 11/11/2009 6:11:01 AM
As lawmakers focus on the need to remove an untenable financial penalty for taking sick leave - lost pay - they should also focus on the need to eliminate the steep penalty for telecommuting. To help contain the spread of the H1N1 virus, the Obama Administration has wisely encouraged employers to permit both leave and telecommuting, and both options must be affordable. Right now, telecommuting can be too expensive for Americans who work for out-of-state employers. If, for example, a Connecticut resident works for a New York company and agrees to telecommute when she comes down with the flu, she may be subject to double taxation on the income she earns at home - once by Connecticut and then a second time by New York. The threat of owing two states taxes on the same compensation can force contagious employees to ignore their symptoms and go to work. A bi-partisan federal bill called the Telecommuter Tax Fairness Act (H.R. 2600) would eliminate the double tax penalty for telecommuting across state lines. It would bar states like New York from taxing the income nonresidents earn in their states of residence. Any legislation designed to enable flu-stricken Americans to stay home without financial risk must provide for telecommuter tax fairness as well as paid leave.