Paid Sick Leave: Cities, States Putting Mandates On Employers -

WASHINGTON -- Millions of American workers face an ugly choice when they fall ill: Either tough it out and head into work, or stay home and not get paid for the day. But in cities and states around the country, that's starting to change.

Perhaps as early as this week, Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy (D) is expected to sign a bill into law that would make his state the first in the country to require large employers to provide their workers with paid sick days. State legislators approved the bill Saturday after 11 hours of debate in the House and a narrow one-vote victory in the Senate back in May.

Later this week, the Philadelphia City Council will probably vote on a similar sick-day measure and the Seattle City Council will likely introduce one. On the state level, a group of Georgia legislators has brought forth a bill that would let workers use their sick time to care for family members who've fallen ill.

For people who are sick of working while sick, the passage of the bill in Connecticut marked a major victory.

"I think it's a big deal for our state and part of a trend in this country," said Jon Green, director of the Connecticut Working Families Party. "It's partly a matter of public health, and partly a matter of common sense and common decency. We all agree that employees should not have to choose between their health and their income."

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Dave Jamieson