Healthy Families Act Mandates Seven Sick Days Per Year
There’s good news for federal employees. Healthy Families Act to ensure seven sick days for employees per year.
Ahead of the State of the Union on January 20th, the President has proposed big changes to the rules surrounding sick pay and family. These changes were recently outlined by senior adviser Valerie Jarrett on LinkedIn. In the article she wrote that the White House views paid leave as a “worker’s right” rather than a “privilege.”
On January 16th, the President signed a memorandum giving federal employees a minimum of six weeks of paid leave after the birth of a child or an adoption. Moreover, he announced that he will ask Congress to pass the Healthy Families Act, which would allow workers at larger employers to accrue up to seven sick days per year. Such laws tend to draw heavy opposition from employer lobbies, but President Obama’s position is that if you’re sick, or you have a newborn at home, you should stay home from work—and you should still get paid. Such laws tend to draw heavy opposition from employer lobbies, but President Obama’s position appears to be that employees who are sick or have a newborn at home should be financially protected and able to stay home from work when needed.
“If our U.S. employers are going to be globally competitive, they’ll need to be able to attract the best and the brightest minds,” Jarrett said, “and in order to attract them, family-friendly workplace policies will be key.”
Your Employment Dispute Attorneys at John Bales Attorneys seek to protect the rights of employees and will follow this legislation closely to learn how it will impact your Employment Rights.