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H1N1 exposes weak leave policies
Posted
at
2:39 pm
From the Washington Post:
WASHINGTON — Across the country, the arrival of the flu season has prompted companies of all sizes to weigh how to accommodate sick workers while keeping the business running. President Obama has declared the swine flu situation a national emergency, and federal agencies recommend that businesses remain flexible and let sick workers stay home.
Congress has also weighed in with a proposal that would mandate employers to offer paid sick leave. Under a bill introduced last week by members of the House Education and Labor Committee, employers with 15 or more workers would be required to provide five paid sick days per year for workers sent home with contagious conditions such as the swine flu.
“Sick workers advised to stay home by their employers shouldn't have to choose between their livelihood and their coworkers' or customer's health,” Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., chairman of the education and labor panel, said in a statement. The National Small Business Association, which has not taken a position on the legislation, has in the past criticized similar proposals as harmful for business owners.
“The more restrictive the government is in how businesses can develop their benefits programs, the less flexible business owners can be,” said Molly Brogan, a spokeswoman for the small-business group. “If it's paid sick leave, you're paying somebody who's not going to be there and you have to pay somebody to replace them. That has the potential to affect the bottom line for a lot of small businesses.”
Mike Aitken, director of government affairs for the Society for Human Resource Management, said that although the legislation attempts to protect employees, the wording of it could do the opposite. The bill is triggered by employers who send their sick workers home. Aitken said he was concerned that employers might get out of providing the sick days simply by forcing workers to stay on the job.
“The way the bill is crafted, one questions whether they will be able to achieve” protections for workers, Aitken said. “We think other approaches should be used.”
According to a survey by the group released last week, most human resource managers said they plan to use their current sick-leave policies to accommodate swine flu absences. About 20 percent of firms require a medical statement to clear an employee to return to work.
The Department of Homeland Security has urged employers to establish contingency plans so that they could continue operating if an outbreak of the H1N1 influenza occurs among their workers. The federal government has strongly recommended that businesses force employees with the flu to stay home and that they adopt flexible sick-day policies allowing staff to work from home if a family member becomes infected.
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