Public Policy

By Public Policy Chair

Rosemary Cunningham

cunninghamrt@comcast.net

Urge Your Representative to Support Sick Days for All!

Text Box: According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, nearly half of American private-sector workers, including 21 million women, have no paid sick days. Only one in three has paid sick days for doctors' appointments or to care for a child. Low-wage workers are especially hard hit, with three in four workers without any paid sick days. A study published by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that 27 percent of low income workers put off getting health-care because they cannot take time off from work, and 18 percent of women at all income levels face this situation. Families with children are often confronted with difficult choices-a decision to stay home to care for a sick child or family member could jeopardize their job or family income. Half of working mothers, who most often provide the lion's share of family care giving, report that they must miss work and often go without pay when caring for a sick child. With more than a third of Americans already experiencing significant elder care responsibilities, coupled with the aging of the baby boomers, the

Text Box: problem is likely to worsen in the years ahead. For these reasons, AAUW strongly supports the Healthy Families Act (H.R. 1542/S. 910). The bill provides full-time employees with seven paid sick days a year to be used for their own medical needs or to tend to the medical needs of a child, spouse or parent. Part-time employees would receive a pro-rated share of paid sick days. AAUW members have been very supportive of the Healthy Families Act in the past, and many of you have already contacted your representative and senators about this legislation. However, less than 15 percent of the members of the U.S. House of Representatives have signed on as cosponsors, despite the fact that millions of Americans still do not have the option of taking a sick day to care for family members or themselves without putting their jobs, their healthcare benefits, or their family stability at risk. Take Action!
Urge your representative to cosponsor the Healthy Families Act so that

Text Box: America's families don't have to choose between keeping a job and caring for themselves or a loved one. Simply click on the "Take Action" link in the upper right corner or copy and paste the following URL into your Internet browser. Then follow the instructions to send a message to your U.S. Representative. http://capwiz.com/aauw/issues/alert/?alertid=9527501&type=CO If your representative has already signed on as a cosponsor, you will be able to send him or her a message of thanks. To see if your representative has already signed on as a cosponsor, click here.