There are several members of my family who have jobs that don't offer paid sick days, and it's awful. I've watched them drag themselves out of bed and to work with fevers and stomach viruses just to avoid missing a day's pay.

I don't see the problem with offering someone three to five sick days at minimum after completing about three months on the job. Workers are not robots, they are human beings with families and sometimes they just need a day off.

New Yorkers demanding paid sick leave delivered a petition with 50,000 signatures to Speaker Christine Quinn's office today. Organizers of the rally say more than a million New Yorkers don't get paid time off, including 65% of "working low-income public school parents."

Supporters of bill to make paid sick time mandatory say the measure would help ensure New Yorkers won't lose their jobs if they or their children get sick. Opponents worry about the adverse effects on small business owners who are already struggling. For months, Speaker Quinn has refused to allow the Council to vote on the bill. What do you say?

Should the City Council vote on the paid sick time bill? Do you support this measure, or is it bad for business? If you don't get paid time off, what happens to you when there's an illness in your family?

Send your thoughts using the link above.

When they mention sick time just how much do they want. If you own a business it can't be unlimited. She starts all of these bills and then she never ever thinks it through and this goes under the heading of free bees for votes. She got caught in her own trap that she tried to set.

TALK IS CHEAP AND SHE LOOKS GOOD WHEN SHE PROPOSES THINGS=JUST LIKE LAST WEEK WITH A SHOOTING INCIDENT AND WE HAVE HAD SO MANY THAT ARE TO NUMEROUS TO COUNT. THE FAMILY DID NOT WANT TO LIVE THERE ANYMORE BECAUSE OF THE INCIDENT THAT HAPPENED AND SO SHE TELLS THEM ON LIVE TV THAT SHE WILL LOOK FOR A NEW APARTMENT FOR THE FAMILY. THIS IS NOT CLEAR THINKING. WHAT ABOUT ALL OF THE OTHER CASES THAT HAPPENED.

THE PEOPLE CAN NOT KEEP MAKING ONE DEMAND AFTER ANOTHER AND NOT EVEN BE CURIOUS ENOUGH AS TO WHERE THE FUNDING IS COMING FROM.

maxxiee
mp

Christine Quinn shouldn't be able to tell the entire rest of the City Council what to do or not do. She was elected in one district, same as the other 50 members. Her having so much power over all the others is a perversion of democracy and the will of the people. Shame on her for taking it, shame on the rest of them for letting her.

Richard
West side, Manhattan

This is preposterous. Where does the government get the right to force Peter to pay Paul for sick leave?

Such matters should be negotiated between employer and employee prior to employment. If the parties are in agreement, the applicant becomes an employee. If not, the applicant seeks a job elsewhere. That's the way it's supposed to be.

The way the unions and the protestors would like it is that the applicant shows up for the interview with an edict from the government in hand telling the employer that he will do what the government says or else.

Sieg Heil! Sieg Heil! Sieg !

Joe
Port Richmond, SI

What is this world coming to, I ask you? We can't even get sick anymore? It's the workplace that makes us sick in the first place and now they don't want to cover it? That us absurd. People, especially employers, should come to their senses and use common sense and not spread viruses, as they are trying to do here.

Fab Doc

Business owners need to understand that their workers are human beings and not robots and eventually will get sick, so, they are entitled to time off.

Carmen from Bay Ridge

Dear NY1,
I absolutely support allowing the City Council to vote on paid sick days off. This bill must be passed. Workers are more productive when they feel well and can perform at their jobs. There is no benefit to having people who are sick coming into work. Many companies offer this to their employees but ALL workers should have access to this benefit.

In the past 20 or so years, I have always worked for small businesses--from just 3 employees at one company to 20 at another--and I have always had sick days available when I needed them. I feel awful for anyone who does not have this offered to them at their jobs. It should be considered a basic right, especially in this day and age of workers being exploited in a myriad of ways.

Christine Quinn and Mayor Bloomberg are dead wrong on this issue.

Anne Sullivan

Easy solution: just take 10 days out of their yearly pay and turn them into paid sick days. If they don't use the sick days when they leave the job, pay them a lump sum for the missing pay.

Dan from Rego Park

I think it should be mandatory that sick days are paid. I worked for three years as a nanny and often got sick from the kids I was taking care of and had to take time off but I never got paid. I thought this was pretty awful. I wouldn't have got sick if I hadn't been in the job!

I would rather not put my name

Tina

If Speaker Quinn won't let this go to the floor for an honest vote, then Speaker Quinn should give up her own paid sick leave in solidarity with all the City's minimum wage employees. Quinn is just a political hack cozying up to Bloomberg & the 1 Percent to pad her hopefully disastrous mayoral race.

Gretchen - UWS

5 sick days per year per worker is LESS THAN ONE DAY EVERY 2 MONTHS, MAXIMUM. If a business who is covered by that bill can't handle that, they are already in bad shape. Would they rather have a worker come in too sick to be productive (and maybe making everyone else sick by coming in)? Too many of these workers are already living paycheck to paycheck and can't afford to stay home and not get paid or lose their job.

Faye from Brooklyn

I have 2 part time jobs, one working for the city, neither providing benefits, vacation or sick time. when I don't work I don't get paid. I'm scared every day about what would happen if I was sick more than a day or 2, could I pay the rent?. I believe that it's only civilized to give employees sick time. But these are not civilized times. Small businesses are closing because their rent triples when their lease expires, not because they treat their employees like people and not slaves.

but what really bothers me about this is that the speaker decides whether bills get voted on or not. that is not democracy. why not let the council vote and see what happens? why should one person decide? it's the same in Albany. this is not the will of the people, the petty dictators with their own agendas get to decide, and punish people they don't agree with by keeping their bills from a vote.

meryl from manhattan

I am a small business in nyc. After 3 months of employment I offer 5 paid sick days and after 6 months employees have 5 vacation days and 2 personal days as an effort to support religious diversity to be observant to whatever faith. Sick days not used can be banked from year to year to be used as paid time off for a more serious illness. This is a generous policy, but the problem has always existed that some employees take advantage of such and view sick days as an "entitlement" and not a benefit. Fridays and Mondays are popular "sick" days!

Sick days are abused by employees and the decision to offer paid leave should be
made by the employer not the government.

Isn't it against labor laws for employers to fire someone if they are sick?

myray

Im definitely for the passing of this bill. Our own government doesn't even have maternity leave for it's employees. You have to work up to your delivery date if you want to have any sick days after your delivery. And God forbid you have a hard pregnancy and have to use sick days before delivery. They do not care. If you feel you can not do the job then leave otherwise get out there and deliver each and every letter to the 500 houses with steps. I witnessed women 8-9 months pregnant.

Tonya from Queens.

The average mom-and-pop shop will not have added expenses if they pay workers for days they take off for illness. Few small businesses with only 2 or 3 workers will bother to hire additional workers if someone calls in sick. That's the only way that paid sick leave will cost employers extra money. The slack will have to be picked up by people already working in the place of business. That's the way most small businesses are functioning already. So I believe that the claim that paid sick days will drive small businesses out of business is spurious.

Ellen
Washington Heights

I just finished reading the bill. It enables the government to extend its authority deep into a business' dealing. It creates an "administrative agency" to "help coordinate implementation." Also, it "creates an online system for the business to keep time and records of the employees paid sick days."

While there is a good moral argument for passing this bill, and small businesses can more than likely afford to give five sick days, especially if there are not many employees, it still seems intrusive.

Instead, I propose that the legislature pass a bill that requiring that businesses ensure sick days—and making them pay a hefty penalty if they do not ensure sick paid days—and not one that is too intrusive, or one that only limits sick paid days off to five. Why five? One may need more than five days. The bill simply allows the municipal government too much power.

Edwin

I have a family member who owns a mid-size company. He gives sick days based on an honor system. This applies to every employee regardless their position. He does not place the employees' value on the number of days they are out sick. A person can be out "20" days and be the most productive employee in the company. Someone can never be out and not be productive at all. Also, this way everyone is not out of the office at once in December trying to "use them or lose them." This system works for his company. This bill is not offering something outrageous. It is just humane. And in some cases may benefit everyone by not making healthy employees and customers sick....

Lisa
UWS

I agree with the bill 100% because people need to have time for their family and unexpected situations that comes up. Addition to take care of your family, you have to take care of your mental health and well being.

Craig Litchmore
Inwood, NY