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Monday, November 16, 2009
Flu spurs sick leave scrutiny
By V. Dion Haynes And Ylan Q. Mui
The Washington Post
WASHINGTON — Across the country, the arrival of the flu season has prompted companies of all sizes to weigh how to accommodate sick workers while keeping the business running. President Barack Obama has declared the swine flu situation a national emergency, and federal agencies recommend that businesses remain flexible and let sick workers stay home.
Congress has also weighed in with a proposal that would mandate employers to offer paid sick leave. Under a bill introduced earlier this month by members of the House Education and Labor Committee, employers with 15 or more workers would be required to provide five paid sick days a year for workers sent home with contagious conditions such as the swine flu.
Protection questioned
"Sick workers advised to stay home by their employers shouldn't have to choose between their livelihood and their coworkers' or customer's health," Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., chairman of the education and labor panel, said in a statement.
Mike Aitken, director of government affairs for the Society for Human Resource Management, said that although the legislation attempts to protect employees, the wording of it could do the opposite. The bill is triggered by employers who send their sick workers home. Aitken said he was concerned that employers might get out of providing the sick days simply by forcing workers to stay on the job.
"The way the bill is crafted, one questions whether they will be able to achieve" protections for workers, Aitken said. "We think other approaches should be used."
Contingency plans
According to a survey by the group, most human resource managers said they plan to use their current sick-leave policies to accommodate swine flu absences. About 20 percent of firms require a medical statement to clear an employee to return to work.
The Department of Homeland Security has urged employers to establish contingency plans so that they could continue operating if an outbreak of the H1N1 influenza occurs among their workers. The federal government has strongly recommended that businesses force employees with the flu to stay home and that they adopt flexible sick-day policies allowing staff to work from home if a family member becomes infected.
About 20 percent of national retailers require employees to have been sick for up to a week before leave benefits kick in, said Gary Laugharn, principal at human resources consulting firm Hewitt Associates.
Policies clarified
Wal-Mart, which employs about 1.4 million people in the United States, came under fire from labor groups recently for its sick-leave policy. Full-time workers accrue an average of six sick-leave days per year but are only allowed to use the time after the first day off because of illness. The first day can be covered with a personal or vacation day, or employees will not receive pay. Temporary and part-time workers do not receive sick time but do get personal and vacation days.
Wal-Mart has since issued a clarification of its policy, stating that no one will be fired for contracting swine flu or caring for a family member with it.
The company said missed work days because of swine flu will not count as an absence. However, workers will receive pay only if they have accrued sick leave or personal or vacation days.
Many companies have tried to combat the H1N1 virus by providing plenty of hand sanitizer in the stores and encouraging sick workers not to come in. But for the roughly 50 million workers who do not receive sick time, the options are more stark: work or don't get paid.
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