All Iowa employees who work at least 20 hours a week would get paid when they are home sick, under a bill before the Legislature. Business owners and industry groups immediately expressed worries about how much that would cost. But Sen. Tom Courtney, who proposed the bill, said he thinks businesses could save money in the long run with greater employee retention and better productivity among healthy workers. "On the surface, this looks like this is going to be expensive for business," said Courtney, D-Burlington. "I think we need to get them over that feeling and help them realize this would be good for them. All the studies point to the facts that workers who have some sick leave are better workers, and that's better for everyone."
Democratic lawmakers said Monday the proposal likely will not go anywhere unless employers have a voice in crafting it. The bill is in the very earliest stages in the Legislature. A subcommittee considered the bill on Monday; the same group of senators will meet on the topic again Wednesday. As of last year, about 33 percent of full-time Iowa employees did not have paid sick days or flexible paid time off that can be used during an illness, state work force agency records show.
Among part-time workers, 81 percent did not have such paid time-off offered to them, according to a survey of a random sampling of Iowa employers by Iowa Workforce Development. Courtney said in an effort to tamp down the outbreak of H1N1 flu virus, public-health leaders pleaded with people to stay home when they feel ill. But many workers ignore that advice because they can't afford unpaid days off, he said. Workers who deal closely with the public, such as service workers and restaurant workers, typically do not get paid to be home sick, Courtney said.
"So they're mixing my salad and coughing, which scares me," he said. Nasty colds have made sandwich delivery driver Dustin Creagan of Des Moines crave bed rest. But the need for money and a desire not to disappoint his boss when he's short-handed have prompted Creagan, 21, to go to work anyway. "If I'm sick and I go out to any customer, I shake hands and exchange money. That's a lot of germs passed around," Creagan said. "I haven't really felt guilty about it in any way. It's been like, 'Here's your sandwich.' What else can you do?"
Creagan added: "I live off tips right now. If I don't make those tips, I don't have any money for that day." When he heard about the proposed bill, Creagan said: "Nice! I think that would be fair." However, one restaurant owner, Jim Lacona of Noah's Ark restaurant in Des Moines, said the expense would drive up costs for Iowans when they go out to eat. "I don't think we could afford to pay it without passing it on to the consumer," he said. None of Lacona's 55 employees gets paid sick time. "My first response is everybody's going to be out sick," he said.
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Des Moines Register
Jennifer Jacobs
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