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By Linda Meric, Colorado-based director of 9to5, National Association of Working Women

Yes, paid benefits!

Paid benefits would have saved Tammera Bravo’s job. When a hit-and-run driver hit her son, she had no paid sick days and had to choose between going to work or caring for her injured child. In choosing to care for her child, the next day Tammera lost her job at a Colorado landscaping company. She had to go on public assistance to make ends meet.

Tammera isn’t alone. Almost half (47 percent) of full-time, private sector workers have no paid sick days. For low-wage workers, those in the bottom quarter in earnings, more than three in four (76 percent) lack access to paid sick days. Only one in six part-time workers has paid sick days.

The problem is particularly acute for working women, who are still predominantly responsible for meeting family care-giving needs. Almost half (49 percent) of working mothers report that they must miss work when a child is sick. Of these mothers, 49 percent do not get paid when they miss work to care for a sick child.

But this is not only an issue for families with children. Nearly four in 10 employees already report that they’ve missed work because of elder-care responsibilities. This number is likely to grow higher, as nearly two-thirds of Americans under age 60 expect to be responsible for the care of an elderly relative by 2008.

Lack of paid sick days means more than a loss of pay. It often means discipline, up to and including termination. No one should have to choose between their health, or their family’s health, and their paycheck or job.

The Healthy Families Act (S. 910), reintroduced on March 13th by U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., is an important step toward making it possible for employees to meet responsibilities at work and home. The Healthy Families Act would guarantee full-time workers seven paid sick days annually, with a pro-rated amount for part-time workers. Employees could use the paid sick days to recover from their own illness, obtain medical treatment or care for a sick family member.

Children are healthier, do better in school and recover more quickly when a parent is able to stay home when the child is sick. Regular medical care prevents illness and decreases the need for emergency care, saving money for public and private payers of health insurance. Public health officials recommend that workers plan to stay home from work for up to two weeks to prevent and control epidemics of influenza and other illnesses. Workers who lose income or potentially their jobs when they call in sick cannot afford to be off work.

Paid sick days are also good for business. According to a 2001 study published in the Journal of Managerial Issues, offering workers the option of taking time off when a family member is sick affects profits positively.

The costs of replacing an employee (including advertising, interviewing and training) are far greater than the cost of providing paid sick days to retain existing employees. This holds true for low-wage employees as well as highly paid and skilled professionals.

Forty-four percent of human resources executives say that “presenteeism” — employees going to work sick — is a problem, estimated to cost employers $180 billion annually in lost productivity and may cost employers more than absenteeism due to illness.

Numerous studies have found that businesses providing flexible leave policies for workers benefit from higher morale and productivity, lower absenteeism and turnover, and an improved bottom line.

The HFA will level the playing field for covered employers, and will have no impact on companies that already provide the minimum number of paid sick days.

Government shouldn’t tell business what to do — but government should establish the floor of what business cannot do. That floor must be raised until no worker has to choose between a healthy family and a job or paycheck. The HFA is an important part of raising that floor.

Linda Meric is the Colorado-based director of 9to5, National Association of Working Women, a membership organization of low-wage and low-income women organizing to improve workplace and welfare policies.

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let me dispell some things right off the bat. As a small business owner i can say right up front that the person who fired tammera is flat out wrong? Now you didnt say whether she is getting unemployment or not so I dont know. But in the cases I have seen Tammera could have received those benefits because she had a legitmate excuse for not being at work. the judge at the unemployment hearing would have agreed with her. So that leads me to beleive that there was more to this. next as a small business owner I gain nothing from paid sick leave. I have never needed to advertise in the paper for workers, the hiring process is actually quite easy and if you cant figure out how to mop a floor then I wouldnt hire you anyway. Maybe for larger companies yes. Not small businesses. Id rather pay $15.00 an hour than pay 6.87 and give benefits. If you are with me for a year you get one weeks paid vacation. Most small businesses have a huge turnaround. Most of these people are paying their way through school or just trying to get up the next ring of the ladder. I have always said that when you quit me I hope its a step up for you. I truly beleive that. The bottom of the pond sucks.. I know ive been there.

While the News editorial claims businesses will be unable to bear the expense of providing paid sick leave, Linda Meric points out numerous benefits for both employers and employees. Apparently the 49% working mothers who have to take time off aren't part of the 36 percent, estimates the Culpepper and Associates consulting firm - offer "paid time off" instead of separate sick leave and vacation benefits.

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