“Today working families in the District of Columbia took a big step toward guaranteed paid sick days.  We urge Council Members to waste no time in completing their work and passing the Accrued Paid Sick and Safe Days Act of 2007.

The District could soon become the second municipality, after San Francisco, to guarantee workers paid time away from work to treat an illness or care for a sick child.  It surely will not be the last.

Right now, more than 200,000 workers in the District do not have paid sick time.  The majority of them work in low-wage food service, retail, and construction.  Providing paid sick and safe days to those working some of our most grueling jobs is the right thing to do and will benefit the whole community.

In addition to paid sick days, this legislation would help those dealing with domestic abuse by allowing them to take time off for violence-related court appearances and to access other services.  This measure is compassionate and long overdue.

The law before the Council has been substantially weakened from the original version which was introduced last May.  But it is nonetheless a good first step, and one every lawmaker in the District should support.  Providing paid sick days is good for workers, good for their families, good for businesses, and good for the District.  This bill should quickly become law.”