Sick with the Flu? Stay Home...But How?

Story after story carries the common-sense recommendation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that people who are feeling sick should stay home. The CDC includes this as a foremost component of flu treatment and prevention.

But what many don't realize is that staying home when you're sick is a privilege in this country -- one that more than 40 percent of the private sector workforce does not have because no matter how long they hold their jobs or how hard they work, they can't earn a single paid sick day. Millions more can't earn any paid sick days to use to care for a sick child or family member.

During the 2009 H1N1 pandemic, an estimated 7 million people in the United States caught the flu from their co-workers. And according to the American Journal of Public Health, people without paid sick days were at greater risk of being exposed to the virus.

We can't prevent the flu, but we can slow the spread of contagion and prevent low-income families from facing impossible choices when the flu or other illnesses strike. Please share this with your friends and families and ask them to call their City Councilmember or Congressional Representative to discuss the need for earned sick days.