The moral argument for paid sick leave isn’t (or shouldn’t be) hard: People should not have to choose between going to work sick and paying their bills. In service industries, especially restaurants and food service, the public health argument isn’t hard: As a society we don’t want customers getting a side of the flu with their burgers. But what about the profit argument? The Motley Fool makes the case there is one, hinging on the bad publicity from an outbreak:
Foodborne illness has been on many investors' minds this winter. Chipotle Mexican Grill already had its hands full with the fallout from the highly publicized outbreak of E. coli, but its troubles were exacerbated by news of a far more common foodborne illness: norovirus. Buffalo Wild Wings shares also took a hit last week when one location was linked to the same nasty bug.
E. coli sneaking through the supply chain is a serious and complicated issue, and it's crucial that Chipotle (and the industry at large) tackle it. However, norovirus is far more commonplace and contagious, and can hit any restaurant at any time. There's one pretty common-sense and simple way to reduce incidences considerably: Have ill workers stay home. But to make that the norm, the restaurant industry needs to embrace the paid sick-leave benefit.
Chipotle already offered workers some paid sick leave, but after its run of sickened customers and terrible publicity, it’s going an extra mile or three:
At the meeting Monday, Chipotle announced what is sure to be an industry-shaking new policy. Employees should now take sick leave for 5 days after symptoms end -- and this leave will be paid leave.
This may be viewed by some Chipotle investors as a far too onerous and expensive policy. Shareholders who have a truly long-term view should applaud the fact that Chipotle takes its earlier vow to get far ahead of the industry in health and safety seriously. These days, consumers don't want platitudes, they want honesty and action.
Since people remain contagious for up to 48 hours after norovirus symptoms stop, making sure that workers aren’t back on the job as soon as they can leave the house is key to preventing big outbreaks. At the front end, before workers know they’re sick, there’s not much you can do to prevent people from passing along a bug. But Chipotle has taken a big step to make us all safer after the symptoms pass.