Connecticut First State In The Nation To Mandate Paid Sick Days

Connecticut became the first state in the U.S. to mandate paid sick leave for workers today, with the state House approving a bill requiring service workers to earn one hour of paid sick leave for every forty hours worked. Gov. Dan Malloy (D-CT) intends to sign the bill, saying, “without paid sick leave, frontline service workers — people who serve us food, who care for our children, and who work in hospitals, for example — are forced to go to work sick to keep their jobs. That’s not a choice I’m comfortable having people make under my tenure.” Currently, only the cities of Washington D.C. and San Francisco require workers to receive paid sick leave. The U.S. loses $180 billion in productivity annually due to sick employees attending work and infecting others.