Hearing Tomorrow! Support the Healthy Families Act

Support NOW's Work |	June 10, 2009	| Tell a Friend

Action Needed Background All NOW Actions Learn more about NOW		Hearing Tomorrow! Support the Healthy Families Act The first-ever hearing on important work/family legislation, the Healthy Families Act (H.R. 2460), is being held tomorrow in the House Workforce Protections Subcommittee. Sponsored by Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), the Healthy Families Act would guarantee seven paid sick days per year for workers at businesses with 15 or more employees, to be used to recover from routine illnesses, care for a sick family member or seek services to recover from domestic violence. Take Action NOW! Action Needed: We need your help to urge your Representative to become a co-sponsor -- if they have not already done so -- and to take leadership in moving this important bill to a floor vote. Working people need assurance that if they or a loved one becomes ill they will not lose their jobs and that a critically needed paycheck will be there when they most need it. Take Action NOW! Background: H.R. 2460 is nearly identical to the one considered in the last Congress, but an important provision to include survivors of domestic violence who may need time off related to the violence against them has been added to the bill. H.R. 2460 has 101 co-sponsors, but many more co-sponsors are needed and House members need to hear that you would like to see this bill passed as soon as possible. The latest statistics show that 57 million full- and part-time workers don't have even a single paid sick day granted by their employers. About half of both private sector and state/local government employees have NO sick leave. Passage of H.R. 2460 is critically important to change this situation. This legislation would set the seven day amount as a minimum requirement, but would also encourage employers to provide additional paid sick days beyond the minimum. A new provision in the bill would allow survivors of domestic violence to take off needed time for court appearances, to seek medical care or for other reasons. Similar legislation was introduced in both the House and Senate in the 110th Congress, but never made it out of committees. Now that we have a more responsive Congress and a potentially supportive White House, the time to push hard for paid sick leave is now! Take Action NOW!
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