Paid sick days.  They aren’t just a nice thing your employer does for you.  They are a public health precaution!

The coalition Family Values @ Work has produced a new video that plays on the new flu epidemic movie called “Contagion.”  Basically, they interview folks who work in the service industry – people who you and I and everyone else you know can encounter on any given day – a grocery store cashier, a coffee barista, restaurant workers and a school bus driver.  The kick? None of them are given paid sick days.

Basically, if they don’t feel good and they want to stay home, they need to pay for it out of their own pockets and risk losing their jobs.  Sounds like a pretty bad rap, right? 

Only 19% of low-wage workers, like those in this film, have paid sick days, according to Family Values @ Work.  That means that most of the people serving you food at a restaurant or taking care of your kids while you’re at work do not have paid sick days as part of their employee benefits. So, more often than not, they don’t take a day off when they’re sick.  As a result, those sick germs just spread…and spread…and spread.

So, we could all just load up on hand sanitizer and put on our Micheal Jackson surgical masks every time we leave the house.  OR, we can speak out in support of mandatory paid sick leave for ALL New Yorkers!

To find out what you can do, click here.