Title
Supporting state legislation for earned sick and safe time benefits.
Body
WHEREAS, no family in Minnesota should have to make the impossible choice of caring for a loved one or keeping a paycheck; and
WHEREAS, over 41 percent of working Minnesotans - over a million people - do not earn paid sick days for themselves or their families; and
WHEREAS, nearly one-quarter of adults in the United States, 23 percent, report that they have lost a job or have been threatened with job loss for taking time off due to illness or to care for a sick child or relative; and
WHEREAS, just three and a half unpaid days off can cost a family without access to earned sick and safe time, on average, its entire monthly grocery budget; and
WHEREAS, African-American, Latino, Native American, and Asian workers in Minnesota are less likely to have access to earned sick and safe time than white workers; and
WHEREAS, the lowest paid workers in Minnesota's fastest growing industries are more likely to be women and are least likely to have earned sick and safe time; and
WHEREAS, workers without earned sick time are more likely to report going to work with a contagious illness like the flu or a viral infection - and risk infecting others; and
WHEREAS, parents without access to earned sick time are nearly twice as likely to send their children to school or day care sick; and
WHEREAS, survivors of domestic violence, stalking, or sexual assault need earned safe time to recover or seek assistance; and
NOW BE IT RESOLVED THAT, the St. Paul City Council supports the campaign to ask the Minnesota Legislature to guarantee all working Minnesotans have access to earned sick and safe time benefits that are fully paid, adequate for one's family, and readily enforceable.