Healthy Families Testimony

On February 13, the U.S. Senate held hearings on the Healthy Families Act, legislation that would provide 7 annual paid sick days for one's own illness or to care for family members. The testimony, by Deborah Ness, Jody Heymann, Heidi Hartmann, Rajiv Bhatia, and G. Roger King, is very strong stuff. For example, almost half of American employees have no paid sick days, 3/4 of low-income employees do not, and less than 1/4 of food service employees have paid sick days... Paid sick days significantly increase the probability of returning to work after one's own illness, reduce the odds of losing a job due to the ill health of a family member, reduce the incidence of contagious diseases in the workplace, in schools, and in child care centers, and significantly reduces hospital stays (because parents are there for the kids).

For all of the testimony, see Testimony. The bill was introduced by a long-standing champion of work-family issues, Senator Edward Kennedy. His statement can be found at Statement.

Please contact your Senator and ask them to sign on as a co-sponsor of the Healthy Families Act!