- Bill voiding sick leave law sent to Walker, By Patrick Marley, April 12, 2011, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: “Milwaukee’s ordinance requiring businesses to provide paid sick leave would be voided under a bill Assembly Republicans sent Gov. Scott Walker on Tuesday. Walker said he is likely to sign the measure. The city’s sick leave ordinance was overwhelmingly approved by voters in 2008 but has never gone into effect because of legal challenges. The Assembly voted 59-35 to ensure it would never be implemented. ‘This bill is a slap in the face to the people of the City of Milwaukee,’ said Rep. Christine Sinicki (D-Milwaukee). ‘This was not just some fluke referendum. This was a hard-fought campaign. People were well educated on both sides.’ But Republicans said the sick leave ordinance would cost Milwaukee business. Changing state law would allow employers to expand and hire more workers, they said…”
- Patrick aide gives backing to proposal for paid sick days, By Kyle Cheney, April 13, 2011, Boston Globe: “Governor Deval Patrick’s top labor adviser threw the administration’s weight behind a proposal yesterday that would require employers to allow workers to earn seven paid sick days a year, calling the proposal a ‘basic right.’ Joanne Goldstein, secretary of labor and workforce development, argued that the plan would enhance workplace productivity, and rejected assertions that sick leave policies should be left up to individual businesses. But at a State House briefing on the issue, flanked by members of the Paid Leave Coalition and supportive lawmakers, Goldstein went further…”
Poverty-related issues in the news, from the Institute for Research on Poverty