[The Pennsylvania Health Action Network] sees many people each year who, though insured, cite barriers to getting care, including difficulty getting paid time off from employers to see their doctors when they are ill. This is a public health crisis, and it’s one that is disproportionately affecting women, African American and Latino workers, all of whom are overrepresented among low-wage workers and among part-time workers.

[Trustee Muriel] Collison has previously said that since the board’s decision to opt out, the issue has been on her mind. A number of full-time workers in Northbrook told Collison that not only do they not receive paid sick days, but that if they miss work for more than three days in a year, for whatever reason, they would be fired, she said.

[Implementing the paid sick days ordinance] will be worth it for Austin workers, including financially independent students who work in Austin and stand to benefit from the ordinance.

[O]ne small business owner in Yonkers tells News 12 he has been giving employees five to six paid sick days a year for the past 15 years. “I think people should have some personal days off, paid if you can afford it, I think it’s the right thing to do, it also makes everybody happy,” says Rich Angelori, owner of Midway Electric.