I was denied the use of my paid sick time

Dear President Obama,

My name is Sonya. I am a board member of 9to5 Atlanta.

In 2010 I submitted a request to my employer for paid sick time. I stated the time was to care for my mom because she was having emergency brain surgery. I was denied the use of my paid sick time to care for my mom because my employer said it did not deal with me personally When my mom came to, there was no one there at her bedside. When I arrived to the hospital there was a hospice nurse attending to my mom. Trying to pick up the pieces after my mom’s surgery caused a great deal of financial, physical and emotional hardships.

I support the passage of Georgia’s state bill the Family Care Act. The Family Care Act will allow workers to use their sick time to care for a parent. We need more policies like the Healthy Families Act, The Family Care Act and the Family Act that help people be able to care for their families when they are ill without being punished or losing pay.

I appreciate all that you and your administration have done to advocate for working families who need new public policy – such as the Healthy Families Act and the FAMILY Act in order to do their best on the job, while providing critical caregiving for family members.

I urge you to continue to use your office to build public awareness and support for these important policy solutions.

Sincerely,
Sonya

Norcross GA