According to the Bureau of LaborStatistics, 69 percent of low-wage workers don't get paid sickleave. (Photo: Shutterstock)

If it didn't matter (enough) to politicians before, it certainlydoes now. The surge in cases of coronavirus and the sounding ofwarning tocsins from the rest of the world to stay home from workif ill are bringing the question of paid sick leave front andcenter, since in the United States most lower-paid workers can'tafford to stay home when illness strikes.

The Guardian reports that service industry workers whostruggle along on low pay and frequently poor or no benefits couldbe among those most at risk—and putting others at risk—bystruggling to continue to work even if they fall ill withCovid-19.

As noted by the Guardian, there are more than 32million workers in the U.S. with no access to paid sick leave. Inaddition, low-wage workers' lack of access to healthcare makes themparticularly vulnerable to the virus. According to theBureau of Labor Statistics, 69 percent of low-wageworkers—those in the lowest tenth of median wage earners in thecivilian workforce—don't get paid sick leave.

And that puts not just them but the rest of the population atrisk. "Their earnings are low, so they can't afford to take unpaidleave, and when they are sick, they have to keep working and exposeother people in the process," Harry Holzer, a professor of publicpolicy at Georgetown University, told the Guardian."That's the reason advocates for paid leave make the case. It's notjust for the worker, it's for the public good. There's a reason forthe government to help provide it."

In recognition of the hazards contagion can bring, The Hillreports, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.,and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-NY, are pushing toinclude paid sick leave, a boost to unemployment insurance, and"widespread and free" testing for the coronavirus as part of aneconomic stimulus package

Amid reports of a potential tax package to benefit the airline,cruise, hospitality, and travel industries—all losing business inthe midst of the crisis—Pelosi and Schumer are quoted in the reportsaying that they are "demanding that the administration prioritizethe health and safety of American workers and their families overcorporate interests."

As part of that "demand," the two are championing paid sickleave for workers being hit with the costs of a quarantine or lackof child care in the event of school closures, as well asreimbursement for patients for coronavirus-associated costs thatare not otherwise covered and the imposition of anti-price gougingprotections.

From: BenefitsPro