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:: Tuesday, September 02, 2008 ::

American Workers Overwhelmingly Support Paid Sick Days - Written by Imperial Valley News, CA
One in Six Workers Say They or a Family Member Have Been Fired, Suspended, Punished or Threatened by an Employer Due to Illness.

More than three-quarters of workers polled in a national survey released today view paid sick days as a basic right of employment that should be guaranteed by the government. The survey was conducted by the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) at the University of Chicago and funded by the Public Welfare Foundation in Washington, DC.

Having paid sick days was seen as “very important” by 77 percent of those surveyed and 86 percent think that employers should be required by law to provide them. Respondents ranked paid sick days on a par with a minimum wage, overtime pay and family and medical leave - and considered it more important than maximum hour limits and the right to join a union. At least 80 percent rated paid sick days highly as a basic worker's right and a basic workplace standard.

The strong support for paid sick days crosses all political and demographic lines and includes approval of pro-rated paid sick leave for part-time workers. The new survey also finds that workers without paid sick days are significantly more likely than those with paid sick days to report to work when they are contagious.

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