Momentum Grows for Paid Sick Days in California
& Cathy Dang
What did you do for Valentine's Day? On the most romantic day of the year and the highest grossing day for restaurants, chances are that you dined at a new or favorite restaurant. Chances are also high that the people who prepared, cooked, and served your food lack a basic workplace protection that makes restaurants healthy for workers and diners: Paid Sick Days.
Depending on what your job is, you might take for granted the fact that you can take off from work and still get paid if you are sick. But a report just released by Restaurant Opportunities Center (ROC) in Los Angeles shows that 89.4% of restaurant workers in the city do not have paid sick days and 58.3% have gone to work while sick. This Valentine's Day, Assembly member Fiona Ma introduced AB400 to guarantee all California workers the right to paid sick days – a long overdue policy that benefits both workers and businesses.
