Cross-posted at the WFP's Party Line Blog
The Working Families Party, policy advocates, small business owners, and elected officials announced today on the steps of City Hall the introduction of a groundbreaking bill that would give every working New Yorker the right to paid sick days.
With 35 co-sponsors in the Council, the bill was hailed by public health experts as a badly-needed, commonsense measure. “When people have to go to work sick, it isn’t healthy for anyone,” said Lois Uttley, chair of the policy and legislative committee of the Public Health Association of New York City. “When one million New Yorkers don’t have paid sick days, it’s a public health crisis waiting to happen.”
Councilmember Gale Brewer, the bill’s lead sponsor and long-time champion, summed it up: “No one should have to lose their pay or risk losing their job because they are ill, or their child is sick.”
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