Title
RESOLUTION ESTABLISHING EARNED SICK AND SAFE TIME TASK FORCE.
Body
BY PRESIDENT FILIPOVICH AND COUNCILOR HANSEN:
WHEREAS, since the recession in 2008 there has been a growing concern over the plight of working families and the number of families facing financial and occupational instability;
WHEREAS, currently there is a national conversation about the best practices in employer-employee relations and how the relationship can and should evolve in the future;
WHEREAS, employees' access to sick leave and family leave benefits is an important part of that conversation;
WHEREAS, city leaders and citizens alike should be informed about this important topic and have the opportunity to provide information and feedback;
WHEREAS, paid sick time gives adult children and family members the time to care for elderly, disabled, and medically fragile relatives. This care reduces health expenditures by preventing and reducing the need for paid care at home or in nursing facilities, that might otherwise be financed by Medicaid or Medicare;
WHEREAS, paid sick time allows people to take time away from work for medical appointments, rather than waiting until after work hours, when they are more likely to use hospital emergency services. Analysis of data from the National Health Interview Survey shows that workers with paid sick time are less likely than other workers to use hospital emergency departments, even after accounting for variables such as age, income, education, and health insurance access;
WHEREAS, those who don't have the benefit of earned sick and safe time are concentrated in low-paid occupations and are disproportionately workers of color and indigenous workers;
WHEREAS, according to recent research, among all workers in Duluth, 54 percent have access to paid sick time, and 46 percent, or about 19,500 workers, lack access and across the broad spectrum of occupations in Duluth, access to paid sick time varies from a high o...
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