2.2 Million Ohioans Don’t Have Paid Sick Days
According to a recent report from Policy Matters Ohio, over 2.2 million Ohioans don’t have paid sick days. Earlier this week the Sick Days Ohio Coalition officially began its signature-gathering campaign for the Ohio Healthy Families Act (OHFA)– a proposed state law that would require businesses with 25 or more full-time employees to allow workers to earn 7 paid sick days per year. The OHFA would also allow part-time employees to earn sick days as well, depending upon the hours that they worked.
The Columbus Education Association is one of many groups and individual citizens that have joined the Sick Days Ohio Coalition.
“Our students are the children of families who don’t have sick leave,” said CEA President Rhonda Johnson. “Our students’ families should not be forced to make the economic decision of whether or not they go to work to pay the bills or stay home to care for their sick child.”
“When our students come to school because their caregiver’s job doesn’t allow them to stay home with their child, it spreads their illness in our schools to other students,” continued Johnson. “That results in a higher absentee rate and an increase in missed learning opportunities for not only that student but their peers as well.”
The group plans to submit the 140,000 signatures they have gathered to the state legislature to have legislators put the bill to a vote. If the legislature fails to act in 120 days, the group can submit an additional 121,000 signatures to put the proposed legislation on the ballot in the November 2008 general election.