| HeraldNet - Snohomish County's online news source |
 WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2010 8:09 am |
||||||||||
 |
||||||||||
|
||||||||||
|
||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||
Business 
|
||||||||||||
Many workers can’t afford the flu CHICAGO — For millions of Americans the rule is simple: If you don’t come to work, you don’t get paid.That idea drives an untold numbers of carpenters, day care workers, servers, shopkeepers and small-business owners to their jobs each day. Sniffles or not. As the swine flu spreads across the nation — and public health officials plead with the ill to, please, stay home in bed for several days until the fever goes away — a large segment of the American work force will face a tough choice about whether to call in sick or simply muddle through. That’s because when skipping work means skipping food on the table or missing a rent payment, staying in bed isn’t as simple as it sounds. Kara Knoche, 28, is worried about getting swine flu and the money she would lose by missing a week of work. The Atlanta waitress is downing Vitamin C supplements, going out of her way to eat immune system-boosting foods and avoiding friends with the sniffles or hacking coughs. “If you don’t save up, you’re basically behind and you’re broke. Every dollar you make after that is probably going to go to bills,” she said. “That makes for a very hard month. A person has to eat.” Across the country employers of all sizes are making contingency plans for a hard-hitting flu season. Some business owners are cross-training employees to fill in for absent colleagues. Others are relaxing sick leave policies that require a doctor’s note. Some corporations are heeding advice from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Among their tips: moving desks farther apart, creating more shifts to have fewer people on duty at a time and reducing employee travel. But that advice doesn’t do much for many companies — particularly small businesses or those in the service industry where sick leave is almost unheard of or too costly for owners to afford. About a third of the nation’s workers don’t have paid sick leave, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. But even some workers who do don’t take it because they fear retribution from their bosses if they don’t show up. The problem can be worse for parents who worry not just about their own health, but their children’s. After all, a sick kid who got the flu from Mom or Dad can mean even more time off the job. Kevin Huigens, 52, knows calling in sick means bringing home a smaller paycheck, or possibly none at all. As a technology contractor in suburban Chicago, his job doesn’t come with sick leave or vacation time. So what will he do if he gets sick this winter? “If I’m well enough to sit up in bed with a laptop, I can still work,” he said. “I can work from home somehow, some way. It may not even be a full eight hours, but I can get a few hours a day.” |
- Sorry, Hawkeye; M*A*S*H gets bowled over
- Former Whidbey student shot
- County archive software paid for but waiting for set-up
- Ruling expected on Sultan beating statement
- ‘Roadkill’ caucus seeks a voice for centrist Democrats
- Police seek witnesses in two accidents
- PAWS calls out for critter care-givers
- Boeing has a busy test schedule
- Ex-Boeing engineer jailed for espionage
- Morning mystery: What happened to House Bill 3181?
- Lynnwood sets height limit on grass: 8 inches
(11) - State Senate votes to toss I-960's tax-raising hurdle (9)
- Schools do well in levy elections (8)
- School levies in Snohomish County all passing, Marysville bond failing (7)
- Cat wanders into police parking lot, is euthanized (6)
- A tidy lawn could be law in Lynnwood (4)
- Lynnwood makes law against too tall lawns (4)
- Architect proposes new plan to save historic Collins Building (3)
- Two suspects sought in Everett shooting that injured two (3)
- Boeing now favored to win tanker, experts say (3)
- Jackson girls outlast Meadowdale owdale
- OBT raises barre in children’s program
- Junior firefighters
- School levies passing
- Mavericks topple Wolfpack
- Get a second look at Second City Feb. 13
- Sports Briefs
- Warriors advance 11 to regional meet
- Arlington's Cascade Valley Hospital celebrates expansion, national award and 100 years of service
- Business Licences Feb. 2010
- Technology tips for launching your own business
- Business Events Feb. 2010
- Tech Talk: No excuse today for going without a Web site
- State already raising fees and rates that restrict business growth
- Some legislators again targeting people’s initiative petition rights
|
 
|
|
|
|
| TODAY'S TOP JOBS |
| View All Top Jobs |
| Top Cars |
|
| Top Homes |
|
|
ADVERTISEMENT |
|
|
|Contact Us
|Advertiser Services
|Home Delivery
|Newsstand Locations
|Classifieds
|Feedback
|About the Company
|Work@the Herald
|Site Map |
|
COMMENTS | Be the first to comment
Log in or register to post a new comment.
To read other terms and conditions, click here