Washington – The American Association of University Women supports the Healthy Families Act, a bill that would guarantee employees paid sick leave to tend to their personal or families’ medical needs.
“AAUW has always believed that creating work environments that help employees balance the responsibilities of work and family is good public policy — good for workers, good for families, and good for business,” said Lisa Maatz, AAUW director of public policy and government relations.
The bill, introduced by Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA) and Rep. Rosa L. DeLauro (D-CT), would provide full-time employees with seven paid sick days a year to be used for their own medical needs or to take care of a child, spouse, or parent. Part-time employees would receive a pro-rated share of paid sick days. Currently, nearly half of the private sector workforce has no paid sick days, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
“This lack of a coherent national policy is especially magnified for women, who despite their high numbers in the workforce, still assume the primary caregiving responsibilities,” Maatz said. “In fact, research shows that nearly 22 million working women do not have paid sick leave.”
The United States lags far behind nearly all wealthy countries in family-oriented workplace policies such as maternity leave, paid sick days and support for breast-feeding, according to a study released by Harvard and McGill University researchers in February 2007.
“At least 145 countries provide paid sick days – more than half provide a week or more annually,” Maatz said. “Instead of trailing behind other countries, the United States should lead on this issue.”
Learn more about AAUW’s activities to promote family friendly workplaces.
For more information or to schedule an interview with AAUW Director of Public Policy and Government Relations Lisa Maatz, please contact Rebecca Leaf, senior media relations associate at 202/785-7738, leafr@aauw.org or Ashley Carr, director of communications at 202/785-7745, carra@aauw.org.
