Life Meets Work Blog

Lack of media attention have you feeling safe?  Well keep washing those hands.  The H1N1 virus is alive and well.  The World Health Organization reports today that it hasn’t yet peaked.

The CDC offers a H1N1 toolkit for employers.  Resources include posters telling employees to go home if they feel sick, interoffice emails and letters, and fact sheets for staying well.

Remember paid sick leave and telecommuting are two bigger tools you can use to encourage employees to stay home and prevent spreading the virus to others.

On Nov. 4 2008, 69% of Milwaukee voters gave thumbs up to a city referendum requiring businesses to provide some paid sick leave.  By Nov. 17, the Milwaukee Metropolitan Association of Commerce had voted (unanimously) to challenge the result in court.  And on Feb. 9, 2009 a Milwaukee circuit court judge granted the MMAC’s requested injunction.

Which brings us to today.

On Feb. 18, 2010 Milwaukee’s Court of Appeals asked to defer the case directly to the state supreme court.

Proponents believe that a rising tide of support for paid sick leave will sway the court in their favor.  Issues of H1N1 and public contagion have given the issue greater national traction, as low-wage workers continued to report for work, sick or not.

The risk of a pandemic has given paid sick leave legitimacy, if you will, as a public health issue.  Opponents can no longer claim it’s just another socialist benefit designed to pick our business pockets and cripple our economy by proxy.

The federal government, meanwhile, must still address the Healthy Families Act which would, among other things, guarantee seven paid sick days to workers in companies with 15 or more employees.

Interestingly (as noted by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel), because the Milwaukee ordinance was brought through a referendum, bypassing the city council, it only remains in effect for two years.  More than a year has already passed in legal battles.

The Healthy Families Act (HFA) has been introduced in the both the House and Senate and would require employers with 15 employees or more to provide seven days of paid sick leave per year.

One concern over the bill centers around the possibility for employee abuse.

Because employees don’t need a doctor’s certificate (unless they are out for three consecutive days) the obvious conclusion is that some employees will abuse the system using their mandated sick leave as extra vacation time.

Similar concerns focus on the bill’s intermittent leave stipulation which reportedly allows employees to take sick leave in the smallest increment available under the employer’s payroll system (six minutes?) without notice.  In theory, that means workers could repeatedly duck out of work situations where coverage is critical, and claim illness without repercussion.

So a big issue is that it opens the door for employee abuse.  And while we’d love to be all Pollyanna and suggest that abuse is so miniscule an issue as to be irrelevant, we’re not that naïve.  Yet, let’s admit most sick leave plans leave the door open for dishonesty.

The response, of course, is paid time off programs which lump sick leave and vacation time together. You get sick a lot – too bad – no vacation for you this year.  Not sure that’s ideal either, but it gets us around the abuse.

The kicker, though, is that the HFA appears to require a stand alone sick leave policy and locks-in existing leave programs. So what does that do to companies offering PTO? One reading suggests companies would be forced to add on an additional seven days.

So theoretically, in a preemptive move to protect itself – “Jane’s” employer could convert her three weeks of PTO (nice, since Jane is rarely sick) to two weeks PTO and one week sick leave.  Bummer for honest Jane.

Still, we’re fans of paid sick leave requirements.  As Kris Dunn over at the HR Capitalist writes,

Employers of choice already do this since they have to compete for talent.  Organizations with mostly entry level jobs - food service, poultry processing plants, etc., probably don’t offer that type of leave.  You show, you get paid, you don’t - tough - regardless of the circumstances.  That’s harsh and worthy of trying to come up with a better way. (bold added)

So yeah, something needs to be done.  But we’re not just coming down on the side of business when we say the HFA doesn’t appear to be the solution.  We’re saying “no” for the sake of employees too.

Workplaces need the flexibility to create leave and benefit programs that work for their industry and culture. Opponents are calling this a “one-size-fits-all” government mandate.  If these interpretations are correct, let’s just point out that one-size-fits-all usually means “fits poorly for most.”

Posted by Jaime

Voters in Milwaukee could have their wishes overturned, thanks to efforts from their area chamber of commerce.

On Nov. 4, residents voted to pass an ordinance requiring employers to provide paid sick leave to their employees.  The referendum won with 68 percent of the vote, and the ordinance is slated to become effective sometime in February 2009.

It calls for all private employers in the city to provide paid sick days for full-time, part-time and temporary employees. Workers will earn a minimum of one hour of paid sick time for every 30 hours worked, equal to about eight paid sick days for fulltime employees.  Employers with 10 or fewer workers would be required to provide five paid sick days.

By law, the mayor and city council cannot amend or repeal the ordinance for a two-year period. However, on Nov. 5 , the Milwaukee Metropolitan Association of Commerce (MMAC) filed a notice of intent to challenge the ordinance in court.  On Nov. 17 its board voted unanimously to proceed with the legal challenge.

The MMAC will seek an injunction to block implementation of the ordinance during the court challenge.

Similar ordinances, in place in San Francisco and Washington, D.C. are also being challenged.

Three cities going on 50 states, that is.

The citizens of Milwaukee, Wisconsin voted yesterday to become the third city in the nation to require its employers to provide paid sick leave for all employees.

Tim Sheehy, president of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce, said paid sick leave was an issue that belonged at the national level.

That just might happen.  In his campaign platforms, Barack Obama advocated seven paid sick days for all employees—days you could use if you got sick, or if a child or parent needed your care.

One of my neighbors is losing a renter this month.  Her tenant is moving out to go live with her daughter who has oft-ill child and is in danger of losing her job.  This grandmother still works fulltime herself—a nighttime cleaning job—and will now be commuting over 30 miles to get to work each evening.

These women aren’t asking for a handout.  They’re sacrificing and working hard to keep their jobs and make ends meet.  Seven paid sick days wouldn’t be enough to resolve their particular challenge…but it sure would provide a little relief.

Posted by Jaime

Milwaukee, Wisconsin could be the third city in the nation to require its businesses to provide paid sick leave. San Francisco led the way in February ‘07, followed by the Washington D.C. in March ‘08. Milwaukee residents will vote on the issue November 4.

According to the referendum’s leading advocate, more than 77,000 workers would get paid sick leave as a new benefit.

If passed, the new ordinance would purportedly allow employees to use their sick days for themselves or a close family member and would cover illness as well as preventive care.

Debate wages on both sides, of course. Opponents say it would put undue burden on small businesses, force large businesses to increase benefits in branches outside Milwaukee, and discourage new business growth.

Advocates say it would level the playing field for businesses that already offer the benefit and that paid sick leave boosts the bottom line by fostering healthier workers.

Opponents argue demand should be driven by the marketplace and that such legislation belongs in the hands of state and national leadership, not local municipalities.

Should Government Get Involved?

Find out what Americans think of government involvement in work/life benefits like these by attending the Life Meets Work free webinar on October 28. We’ll reveal the results of a nationwide survey examining employer and employee attitudes toward flexible work and the role of government in work/life benefits.

Posted by Jaime.