About.com Human Resources

Paid Sick Leave Dilemma

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 11:17:35 +0000

In the US, the debate over how much the Federal and state governments should control the employment relationship between employers and employees rages on. Currently, a mandatory sick leave requirement is under consideration in the Pandemic Protection for Workers, Families, and Businesses Act.

The Act would require that all employers with more than 15 employees offer full-time workers seven days of paid sick leave, and part-time employees a proportionate share based on hours worked. Employees could also use the time to care for children when daycare is closed and to take a child to the doctor even if the child is not ill.

While the Act is for infectious diseases, I have no doubt its implications are much broader. My readers generally disagree vociferously with me on this topic, and some readers agree with me just as strongly. I do not believe that government should mandate sick leave, and I believe that nations that do offer paid sck leave and other time off benefits, have suffered consequences, such as more unemployment and less productivity - and the studies generally back this point of view.

Would I like to see every employee have a solid benefits package? Absolutely. The entire theme of this website is forward thinking Human Resources, but I would rather see people have jobs.

With current unemployment at 10.2% and 17.5%, if you are willing to account for people who have given up looking, legislated employer mandates are a burden on job creation and job preservation. Indeed, in addition to the general uneasiness experienced by the business community, rising unemployment taxes, to deal with the legions of the unemployed, are further hindering job creation.

My home state, Michigan, has the highest unemployment in the nation - 15.1% without taking into consideration those who have stopped looking. Teenage unemployment nationally is currently 27%. Sure, let's mandate a proportionate number of paid sick days for these kids; good luck job hunting.

Stop with the new demands on employers, and the threatened new demands on employers, and you'll see job creation and job security rise quickly. But, you won't see serious job creation until the government backs off on the debt employers will assume through programs such as national health care reform, rising unemployment insurance rates, and higher business taxes at both the state and Federal levels.

Your comments are always welcome.

_{Image Copyright Kelly Young}

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Paid Sick Leave Dilemma originally appeared on About.com Human Resources on Monday, November 23rd, 2009 at 11:17:35.

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