Action Alert: Paid Sick Days Now! Pass the Healthy Families Act

Healthy Families Act

Please urge your U.S. Representative to co-sponsor the Healthy Families Act. This important legislation would guarantee up to seven paid sick days per year for workers to recover from their own illness or care for a sick family member.

Working people shouldn't be forced to risk their jobs to take care of themselves or their families. Yet, nearly half of all workers do not have a single paid sick day to care for themselves or a family member when they are ill.

The Healthy Families Act will provide everyone the chance to stay home, and not have to choose between the families they love and the job they need.

 Your U.S. Representative
 Your U.S. Senator

Send a copy to me

Subject: (required) Dear Senator, I am celebrating Women’s Equality Day (August, 26, the 90th anniversary of women winning the right to vote), by speaking out about an issue of concern to all women and families - the Healthy Families Act (S. 1152). This bill would allow workers to earn up to seven paid sick days per year, making it possible for families across the nation to keep their jobs and care for their families. When children are sick, parents want to keep them home from school or childcare. When working people are sick, they want to stay home – to prevent the spread of infection to co-workers and the public. The problem is that almost 40 million workers (38% of all private sector workers) lack paid sick days, and 94 million lack a paid sick day they can use to care for an ill child. Consider Asha’s family: Asha C. is a young, working mother in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. As a temporary hire, Asha had no paid sick days and could be fired for missing work – even if she or one of her children was ill. One day, she was sick and called in to say she would be late. When she arrived an hour later, two men escorted her to a large meeting room. They fired her. Her employer’s actions not only caused her to lose her job, but also to miss payment of her rent and other household bills. It took a long time for Asha to find another job. A recent Cornell study found that presenteeism - employees coming to work sick - costs $180 billion annually in lost productivity and may cost employers more than absenteeism due to illness. The Healthy Families Act would allow workers to earn paid sick days to care for their own and their family’s health without risking their jobs or their pay. In these tough economic times, with potential of H1N1 flu pandemic, we need public policy to protect the public health and protect jobs. I urge you to co-sponsor the Healthy Families Act and to work actively for its passage. I would appreciate knowing your position on this important piece of legislation. Sincerely, Important: Your name and contact information are required to identify you to the recipient(s) of this message listed above. (* indicates required field)   Name: First* MI Last*     Email:* Phone: Address:*   City*, State*, Zip*: , Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Florida Georgia Guam Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Puerto Rico Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas US Virgin Islands Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming    Do not send me future Action Alerts