Paid sick leave pushed for low-income workers, By Tony Pugh, April 27, 2010, Miami Herald: “Fresh off passage of a sweeping health care overhaul, the Obama administration is supporting legislation to provide mandatory paid sick leave for more than 30 million additional workers, who are some of nation’s lowest-paid employees. The Healthy Families Act, sponsored by Sen. Christopher Dodd and Rep. Rosa DeLauro, both Democrats from Connecticut, would require companies that have 15 or more employees to provide one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked or up to seven sick days a year for a full-time worker. Both bills – HR 2460/S1152 – are stuck in committee and haven’t yet faced a vote. In fact, most legislative action has come at the state and municipal level. In recent years, California, Ohio, Maine and New Jersey have considered bills requiring paid sick leave. San Francisco and Washington, D.C., have passed laws that require it for private-sector employees. New York City is debating a similar measure…”
Day: April 28, 2010
Jobless Benefits and Low-Wage Workers
Many low-wage workers eligible for unemployment benefits aren’t receiving them, By Jackie Headapohl, April 26, 2010, MLive.com: “A new University of Michigan study suggests that provisions in the economic stimulus fall short of helping low-wage and part-time workers receive unemployment benefits, even when they qualify. The Recovery and Reinvestment Act provided a pool of $7 billion for states that adopted measures to increase eligibility for unemployment insurance. These measures included allowing workers to include recent earnings in their eligibility calculations, expanding eligibility to those who quit for ‘compelling family reasons’ such as domestic violence and enhancing eligibility of part-time workers. A new University of Michigan study suggests that provisions in the economic stimulus fall short of helping low-wage and part-time workers receive unemployment benefits, even when they qualify…”