MAP: On Paid Sick Leave, NYC Tries to Join the Rest of the World

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2012/08/paid-sick-leave-new-york-christine-quinn?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Motherjones%2Fmojoblog+%28MotherJones.com+|+MoJoBlog%29

By Erika Eichelberger | Fri Aug. 10, 2012 3:00 AM PDT

The United States is one of the only countries in the world that doesn't give sick workers paid leave.

Now some New York City politicians are trying to change that—at least for their little corner of the country. A proposed city law would require most employers to give staff at least five days of paid sick leave each year. A veto-proof majority of City Council members support the bill, which has both grassroots and glitzy backers, but Council Speaker Christine Quinn (who killed a similar bill in 2010) refuses to bring it to a vote, citing potential strain on business and a crappy economy.

In a political climate in which even the extension of jobless benefits is controversial, national legislation on paid sick leave is unlikely to make much headway. So some of the country's most liberal jurisdictions have been pushing forward on their own. In 2007, San Francisco became the first city to pass a law requiring employers to provide the benefit, inspiring similar laws in Seattle, Washington, D.C., and Connecticut, and proposed measures in over a dozen other states.

FULL story at link.