Sick pay

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Gob
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Sick pay

Post by Gob »

Here in the UK, we get this, you poor saps however....

As the coronavirus outbreak (Covid-19) has begun to spread through the United States, millions of low-wage workers in service industries are left vulnerable due to lack of proper medical benefits and paid sick leave. There are growing concerns that these workers will be extra vulnerable to the disease themselves, or, due to lack of health insurance and poverty, help its spread by continuing to work while ill.

Over 32 million workers in the US have no paid sick days off, and low-wage workers are least likely to have paid sick time. These workers are also significantly less likely to have access to healthcare and medical benefits, making them potentially especially vulnerable to the coronavirus outbreak as it spreads.

According to the latest data available from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 69% of low-wage workers, those in the tenth lowest percentile of median wage earners in the US civilian workforce, do not receive paid sick leave benefits.

“Their earnings are low so they can’t afford to take unpaid leave and when they are sick they have to keep working and expose other people in the process,” said Harry Holzer, a professor of public policy at Georgetown University.

“That’s the reason advocates for paid leave make the case, it’s not just for the worker, it’s for the public good. There’s a reason for the government to help provide it.”


More here...
“If you trust in yourself, and believe in your dreams, and follow your star. . . you'll still get beaten by people who spent their time working hard and learning things and weren't so lazy.”

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Guinevere
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Re: Sick pay

Post by Guinevere »

This certainly takes the import of MFA and mandatory leave paid policies from the theoretical into the practical.

FWIW, Massachusetts has paid Family and Medical leave (I now "pay" into a trust fund as part of my payroll taxes), and the state has decreed that all MA health insurance (which is also mandatory here) will cover Coronavirus testing and treatment/care (without co-pay or deductible). Thankful I live here.

https://www.wbur.org/commonhealth/2020/ ... -treatment
“I ask no favor for my sex. All I ask of our brethren is that they take their feet off our necks.” ~ Ruth Bader Ginsburg, paraphrasing Sarah Moore Grimké

rubato
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Re: Sick pay

Post by rubato »

SF made mandatory sick leave the law years ago. Ahead of the curve? It is one of those things which make obvious sense; not having it forces sick people to go to work and expose their co-workers and the general public.

yrs,
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MajGenl.Meade
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Re: Sick pay

Post by MajGenl.Meade »

Well that's the point, innit? You can't just not go to work because you're scared of getting sick - you have to be sick in the first place, innit?
For Christianity, by identifying truth with faith, must teach-and, properly understood, does teach-that any interference with the truth is immoral. A Christian with faith has nothing to fear from the facts

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Econoline
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Re: Sick pay

Post by Econoline »

No matter what the laws say, there's no protection for many "gig economy" jobs, especially "ride-share" (Uber, Lyft) and food delivery. If you're an "independent contractor" who needs the money, you're SOL.
People who are wrong are just as sure they're right as people who are right. The only difference is, they're wrong.
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Big RR
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Re: Sick pay

Post by Big RR »

That is a big problem; so many people work as sole proprietors (or as LLCs) and have no such coverage; there are ways of setting up businesses where you would be eligible for unemployment compensation, and possibly government funded sick leave (such as S corporations), but this costs money ane increases red tape. We need to find a way to address this; sick leave is a benefit to the public (especially in crises like this) and should be publicly funded; but I predict we will get by this and then forget all about sick leave and do nothing.

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Gob
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Re: Sick pay

Post by Gob »

In times of need...
Budget 2020: Chancellor on coronavirus sick pay changes

The chancellor has said that the NHS will get "whatever it needs, whatever it costs" to deal with the coronavirus outbreak.

In his first Budget speech, Rishi Sunak set out a three-point £1bn plan for the UK economy to cope with the effect on the workforce.

It will include extending access to statutory sick pay, and those self-isolating being able to get a sick note over the phone.

And he said it would be "easier" to access benefits, with no need to attend job centres in person.
“If you trust in yourself, and believe in your dreams, and follow your star. . . you'll still get beaten by people who spent their time working hard and learning things and weren't so lazy.”

Big RR
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Re: Sick pay

Post by Big RR »

Damn socialists.

Jarlaxle
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Re: Sick pay

Post by Jarlaxle »

Econoline wrote:
Tue Mar 10, 2020 4:55 pm
No matter what the laws say, there's no protection for many "gig economy" jobs, especially "ride-share" (Uber, Lyft) and food delivery. If you're an "independent contractor" who needs the money, you're SOL.
My father in law is in essentially this situation...he works on 100% commission, and has no salary.

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Econoline
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Re: Sick pay

Post by Econoline »

I was in that same situation too, until a couple of years ago. (I'm pretty much retired now, though I'm still technically on call one day a week.)
People who are wrong are just as sure they're right as people who are right. The only difference is, they're wrong.
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dales
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Re: Sick pay

Post by dales »

What about the nation's homeless?

They exist all cramped together in flimsy tents.

I'm surprised that COVID-19 hasn't run rampant among that population.

Your collective inability to acknowledge this obvious truth makes you all look like fools.


yrs,
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Guinevere
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Re: Sick pay

Post by Guinevere »

Dales, they may be physically isolated enough that it doesn’t enter that population. But yes, if it did, I can see it being especially virulent.
“I ask no favor for my sex. All I ask of our brethren is that they take their feet off our necks.” ~ Ruth Bader Ginsburg, paraphrasing Sarah Moore Grimké

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Econoline
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Re: Sick pay

Post by Econoline »

Image
People who are wrong are just as sure they're right as people who are right. The only difference is, they're wrong.
God @The Tweet of God

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Econoline
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Re: Sick pay

Post by Econoline »

From the comments on a story at Jalopnik: "The good thing about getting the Coronavirus when driving for Uber is that the executives get to take 60% of it."
People who are wrong are just as sure they're right as people who are right. The only difference is, they're wrong.
God @The Tweet of God

rubato
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Re: Sick pay

Post by rubato »

:ok

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