Free Republic

The central San Joaquin Valley’s top labor organizations say they want to see stricter enforcement of the COVID-19 paid sick leave law and other labor regulations. Worker advocates also say they want to see better outreach about labor rights to rural farmworkers, as well as people who don’t speak English or Spanish, such as those who speak Punjabi, Hmong and Indigenous languages. Some say that few of the Central Valley’s rural workers even know they are entitled to retroactive COVID-19 paid sick leave. “Our experience is that none of them (rural farmworkers) know about it,” Perfecto Muñoz of the West...

"Like I told Barack, if I reach something where there's a fundamental disagreement we have based on a moral principle, I'll develop some disease and say I have to resign." No, how about grow some balls and demand she resign not that I think he has any moral principles so ?

... San Francisco was the first locality to require paid sick leave, starting in 2007. The law brought modest benefits and significant costs. A 2011 study by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research found nearly 30% of the lowest-wage earners reported layoffs or reduced hours, with employers unable to offset the cost through price hikes alone. Connecticut’s sick-leave policy was the focus of a 2016 study (of which Mr. Yelowitz was a co-author), which found a “sizeable decrease in labor demand” as a consequence of the mandate. Today 12 states, the District of Columbia and several dozen other localities require...

A phone call to your doctor can now earn you a week of sick leave in Germany, as the country faces a coronavirus epidemic during a flu season. On Monday, the national association of physicians working in the public health system and the association of health insurance companies announced that telephone consultations would be enough to keep employees out of workplace. The changes should only stay in place for the next four weeks. […] Under the new terms, a doctor can grant up to seven days sick leave for patients suffering from a mild respiratory tract infection, such as a...

Republican Gov. Rick Snyder on Friday signed a law making it harder for groups to put proposals on the Michigan ballot, imposing a geographical-based requirement that may prevent them from gathering signatures for petitions mainly from the most populated areas. The move followed voters’ passage of three Democratic-backed proposals last month and Republicans’ unprecedented tactic — enacted by the term-limited governor two weeks ago — to weaken minimum wage and paid sick time laws that began as ballot initiatives. Legal challenges are expected in Michigan and neighboring Wisconsin, where the GOP recently passed more sweeping laws to curtail incoming Democrats....

It’s enough to make any Wisconsin taxpayer sick. For 40 years, state legislators have enjoyed a special benefit that not only grants them sick leave but also allows them to bank all unused sick days and use the cash value of those days to pay for health insurance after they retire from the Legislature. “It’s a health-care golden parachute for legislators,” said State Rep. David Steffen, R-Green Bay. Because lawmakers aren’t required to call in sick when they miss a day in the Capitol, few ever use any of their sick leave. The unused days pile up over the years,...

President Obama will sign an executive order Monday requiring federal contractors to offer employees up to seven paid sick days a year, a move that could benefit more than 300,000 workers, White House officials said. Obama plans to unveil the new directive during a Labor Day speech in Boston, as he seeks to pressure Congress to approve legislation that would provide similar benefits for millions of private sector workers.

Pittsburgh City Council on Monday approved an ordinance requiring city employers to give employees paid sick days, despite opposition from business owners and organizations who have promised a lawsuit challenging the legislation. Under an amended version of the bill sponsored by Councilman Corey O'Connor of Swisshelm Park, employers with 15 or more employees must offer each one up to five paid sick days annually. Those with less than 15 employees must offer three unpaid days off. Employees would accrue one hour of sick time for every 35 hours worked. Seasonal employees are exempt. The ordinance passed by 7-1 with Councilwoman...

Millions of Californians will begin earning paid sick days under a bill signed Wednesday by Gov. Jerry Brown that makes the Golden State the second in the nation to require the benefit. The law takes effect in July and will help 40 percent of the workforce in California, employees largely in retail, fast-food and other service-industry jobs who work full time or part time but who receive no paid sick leave from their employers. Connecticut is the only state that requires employers to provide paid sick time. "Whether you're a dishwasher in San Diego or a store clerk in Oakland,...

In March, Portland’s City Council unanimously voted to enact mandatory paid sick leave for Portland businesses. While the law sounds well intentioned, it is poised to hurt the very employees it’s meant to help and may damage the businesses that employ them. A recent survey by the Employment Policies Institute (EPI) reveals that Seattle’s 2012 paid sick leave ordinance is increasing the cost of doing business there. Our law could have similar results in Oregon when it takes effect in January.

Two Michigan school districts reportedly closed shop Tuesday after teachers called out, likely so they could participate in union protests tied to the expected passage of "right-to-work" legislation this week in the state capital. Demonstrators have already started to march down the streets, as lawmakers return to put the final touches on legislation that would bar unions from demanding dues from workers. The move would make Michigan the 24th "right-to-work" state and strike a blow to organized labor in the heart of the U.S. auto industry. Local unions spent the weekend preparing for massive protests on Tuesday, in a last-ditch...

HARTFORD, Conn. -- The state Senate approved a bill Wednesday that would require some employers to provide sick days to employees. The bill passed after being amended to narrow the focus. The bill will cover only the service sector jobs where the public health threat is greatest when workers have to come to work sick. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy applauded the 18 senators who voted to pass the bill, saying "This piece of legislation is a reasonable compromise that represents good public policy." The bill now goes on to the House of Representatives. It is expected to take up the...

When one digs long enough...

Fresh off passage of a sweeping health care overhaul, the Obama administration is supporting legislation to provide mandatory paid sick leave for more than 30 million additional workers, who are some of nation's lowest-paid employees.

A long-stalled effort to guarantee American workers paid sick days takes a big step forward Monday with the introduction of legislation by Congressional Democrats. The proposal went nowhere during the presidency of George W. Bush, but as a senator and then a presidential candidate, Barack Obama backed it, and Michelle Obama embraced the idea last week in a talk to business leaders. Now women’s groups, labor unions and other supporters are voicing optimism about its prospects. “The last eight years, you kept clawing and scratching and didn’t get anywhere, but we have a real opportunity now,” said Representative Rosa DeLauro...

As many as 5.4 million working Californians don't get any paid sick days - and they tend to be both sicker and poorer than employees who do receive sick leave, according to a report released Wednesday. "The more you need paid sick days, the less likely you are to have them," said Dr. Rajiv Bhatia, director of occupational and environmental health for San Francisco and a contributor to the report.

Few pronouncements should chill California business owners more than this: “I'm a San Francisco Democrat, and I know what's best for you.” On legislation large and small, Bay Area Democrats never see any burden as too onerous for businesses to bear. Now – with a measure requiring paid sick leave for any employee who works as few as seven days a year – this view is again on display. And this time it's got a grossly dishonest overlay. Assemblywoman Fiona Ma, the bill's sponsor, and Assemblyman Mark Leno, one of its loudest advocates, make the ludicrous argument that one reason...

California would become the first state to require paid sick leave for every worker under legislation passed Wednesday by the Assembly. The measure would allow the sick leave to be used for a personal illness, to care for a sick family member, or to recover from domestic violence or sexual assault. Assemblywoman Fiona Ma, D-San Francisco, said her Assembly Bill 2716 would protect more than 5 million Californians – about a third of the work force – who are forced to choose between working while sick or losing pay. "(It's) a win-win for workers and employers alike and is an...

PASCO, Wash. (AP) - What happened to faking a cough? Sheriff's detectives in Franklin County say a man had his friend shoot him in the shoulder so he wouldn't have to go to work. When he first spoke with deputies, Daniel Kuch (KOOCH'), of Pasco, told them he'd been the victim of a drive-by shooting while he was out jogging Thursday. But detectives told KONA radio that Kuch later acknowledged that he asked his friend to shoot him so he could get some time off work and avoid an upcoming drug test. The friend, Kurtis Johnson, of Burbank, has been...

Huber Herrera coughed into his sleeve. He ran over to a trash can to dispose of some tissues. He no longer had a fever, but he'd had one over the weekend when he showed up for his shift in a downtown San Francisco restaurant "Even now, I'm sick and having to go to work," said Herrera, a 46-year-old prep cook, speaking at a news conference Monday marking the start of San Francisco's new paid sick-leave law. The law was approved by 61 percent of San Francisco voters in November. The first such law in the country, it requires all businesses...