02/28/2008 01:30 PM Senate LABOR & COMMERCE

                     SB 258-PAID SICK LEAVE                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
1:34:53 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR ELLIS announced SB 258 to be up for consideration.                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR STEVENS joined the committee.                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
STEVE   CLEARY,  Executive   Director,  Alaska   Public  Interest                                                               
Research Group (AKPIRG), supported SB  258. He said everyone gets                                                               
sick, but not  everyone can afford to miss work  and to take care                                                               
of themselves  or their  family. That  is why  more than  a dozen                                                               
states are addressing  the need for paid sick days.  He said that                                                               
only  60  percent  of  workers  in Alaska  have  paid  sick  days                                                               
according to  data from  U.S. Bureau  of Labor  statistics; other                                                               
states  hover  around  50 percent.  This  leaves  almost  120,000                                                               
Alaskan workers without a sickness  policy. Low-wage workers have                                                               
the least access  to paid sick days with only  27 percent covered                                                               
and  certain industries  have exceptionally  poor  paid sick  day                                                               
policies such as restaurants at  14 percent. A person serving you                                                               
your meal  potentially at a  restaurant may be compelled  to come                                                               
to work sick exposing you to their illness.                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
A  modest plan  insuring  a  minimum paid  sick  day standard  in                                                               
Alaska would save  over $9 per worker per  week. This calculation                                                               
came from reduced  turn over, lower productivity  losses for sick                                                               
workers on the job, avoiding  something like a short-term nursing                                                               
home stay  and a  healthier workforce  in general.  He said  if a                                                               
sick  worker has  to  send  his sick  child  to  school and  that                                                               
illness spreads  around the  school, it can  have quite  a ripple                                                               
effect and cost economically.                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
He said SB 258  will guarantee a worker a modest  one hour a week                                                               
of paid  sick leave  if their employer  does not  already provide                                                               
it. It  can be  for themselves  or their  family. It  also allows                                                               
employees to  be away from work  because he/she is the  victim of                                                               
sexual assault, domestic violence, or stalking crime.                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
MR. CLEARY said research shows  that paid sick leave is essential                                                               
for most  workers. It shows if  employees who are unable  to take                                                               
time  off  for routine  health  care  visits  often end  up  with                                                               
serious  illnesses that  force  them to  miss  longer periods  of                                                               
work.  Research  also   shows  that  going  to   work  while  ill                                                               
(presenteeism) actually  results in greater loss  of productivity                                                               
than the combined  cost of the employees' absence  and health and                                                               
disability benefits. Also,  when employees do not  have paid time                                                               
off,  they may  lose their  jobs in  extreme cases  which require                                                               
employers to  hire and train new  staff and incur costs  that are                                                               
required with turn over.                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR  ELLIS  asked what  is  going  on in  other  industrialized                                                               
countries and other states.                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
MR.  CLEARY replied  that 13  other states  are considering  this                                                               
along with the District of Columbia.                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
MARIE  DARLIN said  she would  let  her letter  stand for  AARP's                                                               
position in support of SB 258.                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR ELLIS announced the bill would be held for further work.