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Vicki Shabo

Paid Sick Days Progress – and Possibilities – Sweep the Nation

| Jun 27, 2011

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It has been an exciting month in the fight for paid sick days! In little more than two weeks, Connecticut became the first state in the nation to pass a paid sick days bill, and Philadelphia joined San Francisco, Washington, D.C., and Milwaukee as the fourth city to pass a paid sick days standard. The Connecticut bill will be signed by Governor Dan Malloy, a vocal paid sick days supporter, soon. The fate of the Philadelphia bill lies in Mayor Michael Nutter’s hands.

Around the country, momentum is building. On Tuesday, the Seattle Coalition for a Healthy Workforce joined with business owners to release a new proposal aimed at ensuring all workers in the city have access to paid sick days — in a way that works for both workers and businesses. The landmark agreement is an exciting step for workers in Seattle. With supporters expected to introduce the bill in the City Council this month, we could be seeing needed paid sick days progress in Seattle very soon.

In Denver, where advocates and workers are nearly finished collecting petition signatures in support of a November 2011 paid sick days ballot initiative, new polling data released last week shows overwhelming public support for establishing a paid sick days standard. No matter how you cut it, voters across party lines express support for proposed paid sick days language. Overall, 65 percent of likely voters in Denver say they support it — and more than half say that having the opportunity to vote for it would get them to the polls. As the 9to5 Colorado-driven campaign continues to build momentum, these promising results show that the majority of Denver voters already recognize the need for a common sense paid sick days standard that will benefit workers, businesses and communities.

These are just a few of the places where paid sick days are making headlines and gaining critical support. With historic victories already achieved and workers and advocates throughout the country encouraged and inspired, it’s only a matter of time before we see action and progress in even more cities and states. Stay tuned!

About the Author

Vicki Shabo

Vicki Shabo

Vicki Shabo is vice president at the National Partnership for Women & Families and is one of the nation's leading experts on paid family and medical leave, paid sick days and the workplace policy advocacy landscape. She previously served for more than four years as the organization's director of work and family programs. Shabo is responsible for the strategic direction of the National Partnership’s work to promote fair and family friendly workplaces and leads the organization’s work on paid family and medical leave, paid sick days, expansion and enforcement of the Family and Medical Leave Act, workplace flexibility, fair pay and pregnancy discrimination. She serves as a contact on workplace policy issues for key national allies, researchers, businesses and state and local advocates and has been quoted in the New York Times, Washington Post, Associated Press, USA Today, CNN and MSNBC, among other outlets.

Shabo brings a unique background in law and politics to her work: Prior to joining the National Partnership in 2010, she practiced law in the litigation department at WilmerHale, a large international law firm. Before embarking on a legal career, she worked with both Celinda Lake and Harrison Hickman, serving as a pollster and political strategist to political candidates, ballot campaigns, advocacy organizations and media outlets. Through this work, she developed research and communications expertise on issues of particular concern to women. Shabo's earlier professional experience includes a stint with the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee.

Shabo graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in politics and American studies from Pomona College, and holds a Master of Arts in political science from the University of Michigan. She earned her law degree with high honors from the University of North Carolina, where she served as editor in chief of the North Carolina Law Review. After law school, she clerked for the Honorable Michael R. Murphy on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit in Salt Lake City.

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