Four out of every 10 parents do not receive paid sick leave, something that would become critical if a student showed symptoms of swine flu and needed to stay home, education activists and leaders said yesterday.
At a conference held outside the Department of Education, numerous experts demanded the swift passage of a bill that would grant paid sick leave to working New Yorkers as a way to prevent the spread of swine flu.
During the conference, which took place the day before the start of the 2009-2010 school year, it was revealed that one million New Yorkers and 39 percent of parents with children in the public school system do not have paid sick leave benefits.
Mary Pappas, a nurse at St. Francis Preparatory School in Queens who was the first to discover the swine flu virus in New York, pointed out yesterday that one of the best defenses against the virus in our schools is to ensure that sick children stay home to prevent them from infecting their classmates.
Int 1059-2009 [a local law that would amend the administrative code in New York City in relation to the provision of sick pay], which would allow all workers in the city's private sector to receive paid sick leave, was introduced on August 20th in the City Council where it has the support of 37 legislators. The bill would grant nine paid sick days to employees at large- and medium-sized businesses, and five days to those at small businesses with less than 10 employees.
Councilwoman Gale Brewer (D-District 6) said that the bill is currently going through the Committee on Civil Service and Labor with public hearings starting at the beginning of October. The bill could be passed by this fall.
The 5 Boro Chamber Alliance [formed to oppose mandated paid sick time), comprised of the Brooklyn, Bronx, Manhattan, Queens and Staten Island Chambers of Commerce, rejected the measure yesterday on behalf of more than 5,000 businesses in the area.
"The cost of this bill is prohibitive and will require small businesses to cut back on benefits already in place," said Robert Schwartz, CEO of Eneslow Pedorthic Enterprises.
