Get sick, lose your job?

Next time you eat out — consider how many sick days the people preparing your meal are allowed to take. A measure being introduced in the Colorado legislature would guarantee up to nine paid sick days a year for workers at companies with more than five employees. HB 1210 sponsor State Sen. Morgan Carroll of Aurora says many employers in Colorado don’t provide workers with paid sick days, and those workers shouldn’t have to choose between health and a paycheck, reports Public News Service.

So remember that sniffling waiter or dishwasher hacking up a lung in the kitchen is at work because they don’t have the same options as salaried workers.

Carroll says that when workers are in food service or other jobs that deal directly with the public, staying home when sick is a matter of protecting public health.

Opponents say the measure could open the door to employee abuse of the policy, and that it’s “bad for business.” Carroll says the facts paint a different picture; cities with similar laws have seen job growth.

Read more at Public News Service.

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