Media Advisory: Philadelphians to Call for Earned Sick Days

Citing New Research Showing Sick Days Would Save Employers and Healthcare Providers Millions of Dollars,

PHILADELPHIANS TO CALL FOR EARNED SICK DAYS

City Council to Hear from Economists, Business Owners, Community Leaders, Labor Unions and Women’s Rights Advocates at Public Hearing

PHILADELPHIA—At a hearing in City Council on Tuesday, small business owners, workers, doctors and economists will be calling on Council Members to pass the Healthy Families and Workplaces Bill. The group, organized by Philadelphia’s Coalition for Healthy Families and Workplaces, is calling on Council Members to side with Philadelphia families rather than the corporate lobbyists who are spreading misinformation about the legislation. The bill, which has eight co-sponsors, would ensure that 200,000 Philadelphians who do not have access to paid sick time are able to take time off when they or their families are ill.

At the hearing, the group will cite new data from the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR) which show sick days will save Philadelphia businesses more than half a million per year and an estimated $10.3 million a year in healthcare costs.

WHAT:
Hearing on the Philadelphia Earned Sick Days Bill

WHEN:
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
9:45 AM – Press Conference outside Council Chambers
10:00 am – Hearing begins

WHERE:
City Hall, 4th Floor Hallway

WHO:
Doctors, economists, workers and children and members of the Coalition for Healthy Families and Workplaces

Across the country, cities and states have been adopting paid sick days policies to help improve public health and bolster the economic recovery. In 2011, Connecticut passed the first statewide paid sick days law, followed soon after by a law in Seattle. San Francisco and Washington, DC have had successful policies for years. City Councils and State Legislatures in Portland, Massachusetts, New York City and others are building support for earned sick time policies.