Under the new policy, employees can leave work to address safety issues or take care of personal health problems, and [student workers] can potentially provide care for their roommate under an expanded definition of caregiver, [Director of Benefits Drew] Murphy said.

“When you don’t have leave, a day off of work can mean eight hours with no wages, and make someone’s job vulnerable,” LeaAnne DeRigne, an associate professor at Florida Atlantic University’s Phyllis and Harvey Sandler School of Social Work, told Bloomberg Law. “If you can be in trouble for taking a paid sick day,” and it puts your job in jeopardy, “then you’re really in a scary and insecure financial situation.”

[M]y brothers and sisters and I carry on my father’s vision of a business rooted in community, which to us means caring for those that help the community grow and thrive. That’s why we strongly support the recently-passed legislation giving Michigan workers the opportunity to earn paid sick time, so Michiganders can take a short time away from work to recover from an illness or care for a sick family member without disrupting their household’s budget or the fear of losing their job.