chargirlgenius | Channeling my high school self

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Channeling my high school self

Whereas, the powers that be are encouraging sick people to stay home from work or school when they’re sick, and
Whereas the United States has the paltriest sick and maternity leaves among all industrialized nations, and
Whereas individuals will come to work sick because they will either lose pay or vacation time when it is combined, and
Whereas companies will not voluntarily offer better sick and maternity leaves without it being legally mandated, and
Whereas a legal mandate will put American companies on an even playing field with one another, therefore
BE IT RESOLVED that Congress should get their collective heads out of their asses and pass legislation that
1. Requires employers that have a minimum of 10 employees to offer at least 15 paid sick leave to employees.
2. Requires the aforementioned employers to separate sick time from vacation time.
3. Requires the aforementioned employers to provide at least three months paid maternity leave.

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I agree completely with you. I'm so tired of sick time and vacation time being one time. It's so stupid.

When and where are you running for office, and can I vote for you and your proposed policies? :-)

I have waaay too many skeletons in my closet, dahlink. :-D

I should have added some pork in there... ;-)

AGREED!

"So let it be written, so let it be done."

Yep. Even if sick time was limited, if I could take unpaid time after that, instead of just sucking up all of my vacation, I’d rather do that (or rather, I’d want that to be a choice). I ended up taking 13 days unpaid last year anyway (even though my leave policy is fairly generous at 20 days).

I can’t believe this isn’t a bigger issue right now! Come on! I don’t disagree with health care reform at all, but this needs to happen as well.

Amen.

Agreed also!

I used to think having sick and vacation from the same pool was nice, because I rarely got sick and therefore had more vacation. I also like that I don't have to feel guilty about calling in, or wonder if I'm "really sick enough" to stay home. Knowing that it comes off your vacation time definitely removes some of the stigma of taking a sick day. But it's a double-edged sword, and it definitely encourages people to work when they really shouldn't, and share their germs with everyone else, especially if they have a vacation coming in the near future.

To your plan (which I agree with), I would add strongly encouraging companies to allow employees who are functioning but probably contagious to work from home when possible. It's not really something that can be mandated, because it's not feasible for all companies, but I think it'd really help curtail the spread of disease. Even when people have plenty of sick time, if you've got the flu or a bad cold, you probably don't stay home the whole time you're coughing and sneezing your head off. Having the option to get paid if you're able to be productive, while keeping your germs to yourself, would be a very good thing.

Yes please!

(Seriously, who can we write to to get this proposed?)

It sounds like a great idea---short and simple. I'd like to think something like that could work.

That being said to offer these things would potentially break our small business...especially since when folks lay out of work (sometimes sick, sometimes not) other people have to work double to cover for them and get the paper out. Each person has a specific job to do in the process. It's all the family can do to continue offering health coverage, the cost of which keeps doubling each year----if folks want additional perks then some folks are going to have to be let go (and to avoid that the folks at the top of the business were the first to take cuts already). If folks are getting additional paid days off where is the money going to come from to pay for their replacements? In a large corporation this may be easier to sweep under the rug but if you're running a business with 10-49 employees things are tight and the margins for slush nonexistent right now. The government is already very unfriendly to small businesses and I think there's some misconception of business owners as rolling in cash or something. Additionally, how to you determine sick days from vacation days? There will always be people who will burn sick days so as not to take away from their vacation time. Also, small companies are exempt from the Family Leave Act already - it puts undue strain on them and honestly, paying for 3 months maternity leave would place a lot of strain on small companies for something that is ultimately not their fault or their problem. There are consequences to every decision we make, and choosing to be a mother has consequences if you choose to work outside the home that affect not only the family but the employer. A worker has to be brought in and trained to replace the person on maternity leave so where does that money come from? There are a lot of difficult questions that would need to be answered before these ideas would be realistic without running the businesses that make up the backbone of our economy into the ground further.

That is, unfortunately, correct. I was lucky that my bosses in were willing to negotiate 6 weeks maternity (whatever I had saved up - about 2 or 2.5 weeks - and the rest unpaid) plus 2 weeks part-time to transition back into the office.

In my profession (architect), it's also rather difficult for many of us to work from home. Our drawings require a lot of in-person coordination, and it is very expensive to purchase the software (or even the licenses for same) which we use for our drawings. This is why I often work on specifications for several of the other architects. They are portable, I already have the software, and I can do the necessary research at home on my own laptop whenever I have to stay home sick or with the baby.

Oh, and owners of small firms often must pony up their own money to help their company in tough times. I don't think my brother has drawn a salary from his business in months, and has been using his savings to keep it going. The principals of my firm probably work harder and longer hours than just about anyone here - AND they have the added worry of billing, payables, receiveables, and rain-making (getting the clients). They have my deepest respect for all that they do - and they are good to their employees :-)

Hear Hear!

(wait, you mean some places accrue sick and vacation as the same thing?)

Edited 2009-04-30 15:52 (UTC)

So say we all!

Also, you'd think that they would come up with provisions for things like epidemics (not that this is one, yet), particularly for people likely to catch the disease who don't get healthcare/sick time (people working in retail, for example)

Have you forwarded this to Stenny Hoyer? He is your Representative and fairly well positioned currently (as the House Majority Leader). :-)

Didn't they tell us in School House Rock that is how you get a law?

2. Requires...employers to separate sick time from vacation time.

Would this be a bad time to point out that my employer already does that?

I feel for the rest of you folks; PTO is Teh SuXX0r :-P

Yeah. Even if I’m normally a healthy person, I still don’t want my co-workers coming in sick. So it’s a benefit to everybody.

I’m not sure how you could really write a law or mandate that companies let people work from home when they’re contagious but functional. Perhaps some sort of tax benefits, but no mandated law? I know it’s not possible for us, because of the secure nature of our work.

I have to say that I’m not actually all that keen on working from home, or at least it being an expectation. If there’s an *expectation* that people have to work from home, it disturbs the sanctity of staying home and resting so that you can get well again. I can see even tax benefits leading to companies putting pressure on employees to do so.

Congresscritters, probably. :-) Then again, it seems that the only way to really get ideas popular is throught blogosphere and twittersphere. :-D

I have to say that I’m not actually all that keen on working from home, or at least it being an expectation. If there’s an *expectation* that people have to work from home, it disturbs the sanctity of staying home and resting so that you can get well again. I can see even tax benefits leading to companies putting pressure on employees to do so.

Good point. I personally think that a sick day should be a sick day. If you have to take it out of sick time, you shouldn't be expected to do any work that day. Working from home while somewhat sick should be a regular day of work that's paid normally and doesn't affect your leave balance.

I don’t disagree with much of what you say. But realistically speaking, that’s why actual bills are thousands of pages long. :-D

And perhaps it’s not something that needs to be funded by companies. Of course, then we’re veering into the bigger government argument. But as I understand it, many smaller (and even larger) businesses like the idea of the government taking over the health care benefit, because then the burden is no longer on the business.

In any case, every other industrialized nation has better leave laws than we do. In fact, many *developing* countries have better laws than we do. There have got to be some good examples to look to, to pick and choose what works for the particular situation in our country.

My old company had both but went to PTO. My new company has Personal time (which includes sick) and vacation.

Well, I think I'd take out the part about Congress taking their collective heads out of their asses.... ;-)

While generally a pretty stingy outfit, my employer is surprisingly enlightened when it comes to sick leave. We have no annual caps per se; it is up to the individual's manager to determine if sick leave is being used appropriately/abused. More than 5 continuous days and the employee has to go on short term disablity and have a doctor's note. Seems to work pretty well, and I can tell people to stay home when they are sick.

Yep, it's generally known as "PTO" - Paid Time Off, and it doesn't discriminate between sick and vacation. I can see some benefits of it, but there are definite downsides. At my last two jobs, I've had PTO. I even worked for a few companies that gave you the time that you needed for being sick. When you were sick, you stayed home. There wasn't a limit (but they watched more closely to make sure you didn't abuse it).

I actually like the idea of unlimited sick time, though it does result in supervisors having to keep a closer watch to make sure it isn't abused.

Yah. My vacation, personal days, and sick days are in separate buckets. I think the 'fink has separate buckets as well.

I used to have that. (Thank goodness it was in effect when I was pregnant!) Then they went to salaried people get 6 days BUT, partial days don't count. So if the kid is really sick for a few days, I can split-shift with the spouse and not have sick time counted. It's a saving grace!!! And my manager is flexible enough to let me make up a few hours here and there. Otherwise I'd use up all my sick time before spring with all the winter daycare germs!!

If I remember correctly, when we had unlimited, there was a "watch if it gets over 10 days" unofficial policy for reviews and things. But it also meant that when I had reduced hours at the end of my pregnancy and the Short Term Disability was screwed up, I was able to just chalk it up to sick time. BIG relief! It really wasn't that hard to watch. Make sure that your work is getting done, and most management didn't really mind. People understood that parents of young children would have more sometimes, but usually those people were concientious enough to come in and catch up asap.

Oooh. That may have been what I had at HSHPS. At this job, I defintely have "Vacation" and "Sick" time, very separate (I have a lot of sick time accrued now, not so much vacation :p )

i used to have that (and sick time was "unlimited, don't abuse it" for my class of employee). new job has PTO - which at first i thought was pretty cool because i rarely use sick time, so it was just more vacation in my book. but i am more reluctant to take sick days now. the psychological aspect was unexpected for me. glad to hear it's common, at least....

I agree with your sentiment, but I think your suggestions are not enough.

I like the Idea of combined sick and personal leave, but NOT vacation. If I am going to the DR. is it sick time or personal leave? Sometimes there is not the distinction there. But vacation is vacation. Time off to rest, relax, and recoup motivation and de-stress.

However I DO think that Maternity leave should be taken from vacation and/or sick time and then taken un-paid. Having a baby is a choice in this era. there are more than enough ways to plan a pregnancy that anyone who has a baby (excepting the 1%-3% who get prego on the pill) has made a choice to have sex with the chance of getting pregnant. I would encourage the Government to support maternity leave, sort of like un-employment or disability.

See my post for more opinions on this topic... I was getting long winded.

WRT personal leave – I left that out because it’s not as common as sick and vacation time. Doctor’s appointments would certainly fall under sick time. Staying home with sick kids is sick time. That’s how it works for government employees (Jeff, anyway).

For my part, I don’t particularly care who exactly would pay this leave, be it the government, or the companies. I put companies into the post, but I could have just as easily said the government. I would actually expect it to be some combination, perhaps based on models from, oh, pretty much any other industrialized country in the world?

As for maternity leave, we have one of the absolute WORST maternity leave and parental support systems in the world, and certainly the worst among any first world nation. Even with the Family and Medical Leave Act, that time that companies are required to give to parents is completely and totally unpaid, unless the parent has vacation time and/or disability leave. Even then, small businesses and companies that fall under any number of any loopholes don’t have to give any leave, and can even refuse to give a mother her job back if she takes leave.

The “parents have a choice” meme is thrown out there so often, but it is thin and virtually invalid. Yep, people can choose whether or not to have a child. However, many parents cannot afford to take unpaid time off of work to provide adequate care for their newborns. (And much as some people would like to suggest otherwise, reproduction is not a privilege reserved only for those with enough money.) Six weeks, though it’s so common in this country, does not cut it. The 8 weeks that I took did not cut it. I know I’m opening a can of worms here (but that particular “parents have a choice” meme angers me); I’ve heard way too much from the childfree community about all of these supposed “special benefits” that parents get. Early maternal employment has an impact on child health and well-being. Child health and well-being is a public health issue.

I admit I am childless. I May not ever have kids (I am 30, but my hubby is 41, so we have some time to decide still). I do love other peoples kids and know that the next generation will be here when we are all gone.

I totally agree that child health and well being is a public health issue. I also agree that 8 weeks is not enough time. I think a year is not REALLY enough time. I would LOVE to see parents able to spend 18-24 months (or longer) home with an infant before sending them off to daycare and pre-school. Kids need it and deserve to have their parents around during those important years of development. (as do older kids, but I think that is another post)

Being able to afford time off is one of the MAIN reasons we have chosen not to have children. How do we support ourselves and our family on one income? I have met single parents who work, AND attend college. I am blown away at how they are able to do it. There is little support out there for families.

My point is that we have CHOSEN to be childless. We know what systems are in place. What options are available to us. How much it costs to care for children. And We don't have a social network that would support us, no Grandmas or Aunts and Uncles to watch the kids sometimes, or help us out with buying diapers and school clothes. It seems an overwhelming obstacle to be a good parent and remain comfortably middle class.

I am not saying it is a privilege to have children, only that people who choose to have kids are accepting the difficulties and sacrifice that go along with it. AND that there are very few truly accidental pregnancies. If you have un-protected sex, you should expect to get pregnant (and I theorize on some level are planning to).

It is sad that in this country that you get more support for your children if you are dirt poor, than if you are working a modest job. We all know parents who spend 50-80% of their income on child care so that they can go to work, just to have insurance. But some women who do not work collect checks and food stamps and Medicare AND get to stay home with their babies.

The point here is NOT to rag on welfare programs, because they are so important. My point is that they should be expanded to include more people. Why not provide WIC checks to all parents who request them for healthy foods for their kids. Why not cover all people, mothers, fathers, children... with govt health care so that if a parent stays home with his or her child, they are still covered.

This protects the children of parents who make bad decisions too. It is not a child's fault if the parents spend money on luxury items and cannot afford the doctor for the kids. and is a car and a cell phone really a luxury? A home computer? Clothing for themselves and the children? what about regular Take out dinners because both parents work long hours and dont have the time and energy to make dinner at the end of the day?

These parents who work hard need support too. The stay at home parents are the ones who have time to take interest in their children's educations, join PTA, Do Cub Scouts, Coach sports, pay attention to local politics...etc These are important parts of parenting that too few parents are able to perform.

I choose not to have children because I dont think I can be a good parent based on the support availiable. Not everyone wants to make that choice, and I respect that. Some people have better family support structures. some people have more energy and are willing to sacrifice more. And some people are too ignorant event to think about the consequences of having un-protected sex. But the govt should protect and support all children, children of good parents, children of bad parents, and children of parents who are doing the best they can. In otherwords ALL children. And that means supporting parents, which they are not doing well enough right now. IMHO Some places do it better (Canada, Germany...etc) some places do it worse (China).

My 2 many cents.

This is the whole problem. They have FREE healthcare at their own special "clinic". Of course they don't understand any of the problems connected with leave and healthcare!

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Channeling my high school self

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