Family Values @ Work celebrates permanent paid sick days in NY

Family Values @ Work joins the over 60 members of the New York Statewide Paid Leave Coalition, and our anchor group, Citizen Action of New York, in celebrating the passage of a permanent paid sick days policy as part of the 2020 New York state budget. This win is a testament to the commitment and leadership of the New York coalition, and an acknowledgement by Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York legislature that our country is better when we all have time to heal and care for those we love.

Blue Carreker, Statewide Facilitator for the Coalition and Citizen Action Worker and Gender Justice Campaigns Manager, expressed appreciation for the Governor’s attention to coalition concerns in developing the policy language, and commended the coalition’s many individual and organizational members for the long and hard work to reach this day. “The current pandemic has made painfully obvious the need for a paid sick leave standard for all workers, and dashed the feeble excuses of those corporate interests who prevented earlier passage,” Carreker said. “This is an important step forward in the battle for workers’ rights and a demonstration of the power of collective advocacy.” 

The New York Paid Sick Days policy provides most workers with at least five job-protected paid sick days per year. Workers will start to accrue those sick days 180 days from passage of the policy, and can begin to use the time on January 1, 2021. Under the law, the paid sick time can be used to care for oneself or a broad group of family members; or to seek services in response to domestic abuse, sexual assault or sex trafficking experienced by the worker or the worker’s family member.

FV@W will continue to work with its 27 state coalitions nationwide to win permanent paid sick days and family and medical leave insurance for all workers.