Column: Hawaii workers need right to paid sick days

While the rest of the country is seeing a surge in cases, Hawaii has managed to keep our cases low. But to continue reopening our economy, we must ensure everyone is able to follow Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, quarantine or isolate when needed, and care for a sick family member or for kids doing remote learning. That’s the only way we’ll recover our health, support small businesses and rebuild our economy.

Federal legislation passed in March, the Families First Coronavirus Relief Act, has given many workers the rights to paid sick days and extended family and medical leave. These two provisions have been key to workers being able to take the time they need to keep themselves and our communities safe when they’ve been sick.

They have also helped residents abide by the governor’s emergency orders, which require people who are sick to stay home, unless they are seeking medical care.

But both of these programs expire at the end of 2020. Without another federal package to extend them, our workforce will be put in a perilous dilemma: come to work sick or risk their financial security.

That’s why our state Legislature this coming session should pass a law that permanently gives workers the right to paid sick days. Families should never be forced to choose between their health and the health of their community and making ends meet.

Access to paid sick days is a matter of public health. Recent research from the Washington Center for Equitable Growth found that “states where workers gained new access to guaranteed paid sick leave through the Families First Coronavirus Response Act saw a statistically significant 400 fewer confirmed COVID-19 cases per day.”

This trend was clear across the world. Countries that were hardest-hit lacked paid sick days or had weak paid sick policies, such as Italy and the United States. Having sick workers stay home, from the beginning of any signs of illness, is key to reducing community spread. If we want our businesses and schools to open, we need to make sure people who are ill can stay home — even after the federal law expires.

Hawaii’s Legislature should not wait to send this policy to the governor’s desk. It should be a priority to pass the legislation as quickly as possible so they can focus on our budget deficit and other pressing needs. Paid sick days are vital protections for the health of workers, families and communities. In this pandemic, they will allow workers time off work, without risking their job or paycheck, to recover from the coronavirus, to care for a family member, follow quarantine, or care for a child whose school or place of care has closed.

Now is the time to put community health first.

Kathleen Algire is the Director of Public Policy and Research at the Hawaiʻi Children’s Action Network.