Presenteeism strikes – another Ellen Goodman editorial
WorkingForChange-Presenteeism strikes
So what is going to happen to SL’s parents as they take care of him during this serious illness? They both work for the Minneapolis public schools.
Despite that, the value of paid sick leave has gotten less attention than the value of Echinacea and zinc. The last comprehensive piece of legislation dealing with work and family and health was the Family and Medical Leave Act in 1993. It took 13 years of effort and two presidential vetoes by the first George Bush before we were guaranteed 12 weeks of unpaid leave for the serious illness of a family member or ourselves.
This hugely successful legislation has been used by more than 50 million Americans, 40 percent of them men. But FMLA only covers the 60 percent of workers in companies with 50 or more employees. Three-quarters of the people who need but don’t take leave say it’s because they can’t afford to lose a paycheck. One in 10 who take leave actually end up on public assistance.
Now, the National Partnership for Women & Families, the lead group that pushed — and pushed — FMLA up The Hill, is pushing the boulder of paid sick leave. A bill to get seven days of paid sick leave in companies of 15 or more — days that you can use for yourself or a family member — was first introduced to Congress last summer. Ted Kennedy just pledged to reintroduce it early this year.
Not even the most ardent supporter expects a victory in this Congress. Indeed, it’s rumored that the Bush administration wants to scale back FMLA itself. Moreover, Ness acknowledges ruefully, the debate about Social Security is “sucking up all the oxygen.”
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In 117 countries workers are guaranteed a week or more. Our own federal government gives employees 13 such days. Momentum is building in the states, where 21 bills were introduced last year. California has become the first state to have partially paid leave. Could this be contagious?
After generations of social change, the policy lags behind the pro-family rhetoric. That’s hardly a news bulletin. If there is any common ground, it’s a shared understanding of the difficulties of balancing work and family, jobs and the “rest of life.”
“People are struggling just to meet their emergency needs,” adds Ness, who is out to build a bipartisan coalition for paid leave. “We have to ask what does it take to really ensure that families thrive?”
Much more than presenteeism at work and absenteeism at home.
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A year ago (or longer) on This Journey…
