The traditional Father’s Day gifts are a new tie or a set of golf clubs (and those silly cards that suggest all dads care about are wearing ties and playing golf — not true!). But if we really want to thank our dads for all the times they’ve been there for us, then there’s no better gift than one that allows all fathers to be there for their children: a paid sick days law.

The paid sick days movement’s attention is focused once again on New York City — and there is no question that if a minimum paid sick days standard becomes the law in the Big Apple, it will be a game-changer for the movement as a whole.

On April 26, more than 200 advocates from 19 states and D.C. gathered in Washington, D.C. for the National Partnership’s third Paid Sick Days Summit.

On March 25, New York City Councilwoman Gale Brewer reintroduced New York City’s Paid Sick Time Act in the City Council, with 34 of the City Council’s 51 members as co-sponsors. Advocates celebrated the bill’s reintroduction with a thrilling and energizing rally at City Hall.

In a recent speech before the staff of the U.S. Department of Labor, First Lady Michelle Obama emphasized the Obama administration’s support for the Healthy Families Act and other work and family policies.

Given the recent news about Wal-Mart’s sick days practice, we all may want to think twice about shopping there this holiday season—which regrettably overlaps with cold and flu season.

Since its launch just this summer, New York City’s campaign for paid sick days has quickly become one of the most-watched in the country.

On Nov. 10, the Senate HELP Committee’s Subcommittee on Children and Families, chaired by Sen. Chris Dodd, hosted a hearing on H1N1 and paid sick days entitled “The Cost of Being Sick.”