Posted by judman25 at 8/21/08 3:41 p.m.

A mandate would only force a smaller company to cut corners somewhere else, i.e. 401k, health coverage, etc.

Posted by jctsuave at 8/21/08 4:14 p.m.

I could see maybe 3 sick days a year for every employee, but people are just going to abuse this system. I can't believe you get paid time off for having kids. How much time off do you get. If its two weeks a piece I only need to have 26 kids a year and I'll never have to do real work again, hooray! Thanks Crissy finally a sweet sweet handout I can get behind. Oh and sorry boss its been good while it lasted, but if you still having to pay me to go out and have kids its obvious which job is more fun.

Posted by jctsuave at 8/21/08 4:16 p.m.

Oh wow, its two weeks of paid sick leave a year! Thats insane. Hopefully this law completely eliminates vacation time at a lot of jobs and from now on I would just have to schedule my "sick days" two weeks in advance.

Posted by pamfell at 8/21/08 4:29 p.m.

I can understand a mandated sick leave more then a 'family leave'
at least allowing those who are sick to stay home and not infect the whole office seems logical.

Having kids on the other hand is a choice... take the hit to pay, you've already demonstrated you're willing to sacrifice money when you decided to have kids (pssst... they cost a lot)

Posted by Linda J at 8/21/08 5:10 p.m.

No one is guaranteed paid time off for maternity leave.
"Does a parent get PAID leave while taking time off to care for a new child? Neither Washington State nor federal laws require that parents get paid leave while taking time off to care for a new child." It's bad enough this country has no daycare programs. Now people families are begrudged 12 weeks to welcome a new kid into the world, by people like jctsuave up there?

Why not give folks sick leave? If you're fortunate enough to never need it, they can compensate you for it. But if you do get sick, why aggravate that illness by worrying about whether your job will be there when you get back.

Look what CEOs get paid! http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/business/AP-CEO-Pay-Top-10.html

Don't tell me they work that much harder than other folks.

Posted by jinjimbob at 8/21/08 5:28 p.m.

Linda JNo one is guaranteed paid time off for maternity leave.

They are, its called the FMLA. Mothers AND fathers can use it.
http://www.dol.gov/esa/whd/fmla/

Paid leave? That's another matter, why should a mother get paid to have a children? It is a choice.

No day care? Its called a home and being a responsible parent, instead of flogging the responsibility onto other tax payers.

Posted by voiceofcommonsense at 8/21/08 5:52 p.m.

jctsuave thats 3 more then I take a year!

Posted by idontheartseattle at 8/21/08 5:55 p.m.

FMLA is not paid. FMLA is job protection.

You may be able to use PTO/Vacation but that might depend on your company, I know my company allows for it.

Posted by Traci_UDistrict at 8/21/08 6:45 p.m.

Yes, so I have heard--always from people who once were kids.

Posted by DFC at 8/21/08 11:21 p.m.

Sure, paid sick leave AND mandatory insurance coverage. But if I have to choose, I'd take the mandatory insurance coverage first.

One point of paid sick leave is for people to STAY HOME when they are sick and not bring all their germs to share at the office.

Posted by naabta at 8/22/08 7:50 a.m.

"Paid sick days keep people home when they need to be. But employers - especially small businesses - say a mandate would be too costly in tough economic times. "

small businesses are the ones who can afford it the least.

would this apply to mcdonald's? because you know, high school kids never lie about being sick or anything...

Posted by unregistered user at 8/22/08 8:51 a.m.

There is a cost for everything. It has to come from somewhere. Who pays for it in the end? The workers, the taxpayers.

All the law would mean is more government. Another agency, or more power for an existing one to "enforce" the new policy.

Do we really want bigger government, more paperwork, more taxes, more beaurocracy?

Posted by Traci_UDistrict at 8/22/08 2:33 p.m.

I can see limited use of this during flu or other contagious disease outbreaks.

::There is a cost for everything. It has to come from somewhere. Who pays for it in the end? The workers, the taxpayers.::

I agree. I think people have a responsibility to stay healthy (barring unforseen events) if their income and family depends on it. That means taking precautions and washing hands etc. This is also where the paid sick leave limited to during outbreaks would be useful. I would hope that schools are also discouraging kids who are sick from attending and finding ways to accomodate the missing of lessons and tests. THAT should be mandatory.

Posted by MeMyself&I at 8/22/08 5:05 p.m.

I think they should mandate it. My husband works for a large company (approx 100 employees) that does not pay them for sick leave. In the 7 years that he has been there, he has missed approx. 10 days by being sick. If he does not take his vacation days to cover it, then his check is short. I do not agree with people that say it would be abused. My small company (only 9 employees) have unlimited sick leave. None of us abuse it. Other than 2 weeks when I got my appendix taken out, I have only missed 3 days in the last 2 years due to illness. If you have responsible, honest employees... you shouldn't have to worry about people abusing the system.