Virginia Could Become First Southern State with Paid Sick Days

Virginia is inching closer to becoming the first state in the South to pass a paid sick day standard. It shouldn’t take a coronavirus to remind us what’s at stake: the health of every one of us.

People get sick. At this time of year, many of us get colds or the flu. We slip on ice. We need to take a sick day off work to visit a doctor or care for a sick child or other loved one.

But 41 percent of private sector workers in Virginia (1.2 million workers) have no paid sick days or paid time off. Zero. National studies reveal that 80 percent of those without paid sick days are low-wage workers.  If you are low-paid and you struggle to feed your family, you’ll probably go to work sick or send your child to school sick. The CDC has said about 50 percent of Norovirus outbreaks can be traced back to food service workers who were forced to choose between working sick and losing pay or their job. 

Our state did a great job of expanding access to Medicaid. Yet many who qualify for Medicaid can’t take time to see a doctor without losing family income, or their job. We could easily face a public health emergency.

Virginia’s paid sick days proposal (SB481) is modest. As amended, it would guarantee workers can earn five paid sick days in businesses with 15 or more employees and two job-protected, unpaid days for those in businesses with fewer than 15 staff. Yet it has become one of the most controversial bills of the session. The National Federation of Independent Businesses, the Retail Federation and the Restaurant Association have led the opposition and have recently been joined by the Poultry Federation, lobbyists for American and United Airlines and others.  Virginia Free, a right-wing “free enterprise” group, sent a message to legislators that the bill would take away vacation time for workers – a lie. 

The Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy (VICPP) has led the work on the bill for the last year.  VICPP worked with A Better Balance to craft a bill drawing on experience around the country, recruited patrons to lead the effort, and mobilized its 26,000 person network around the Commonwealth to meet with legislators, write letters, send emails and question legislators in town meetings.  During the General Assembly itself, which only meets for eight weeks, VICPP staff and Witness in the Capitol volunteers worked on this bill relentlessly. The AFL-CIO and SEIU have become actively involved in using their relationships and networks to push the bill and resist efforts to exclude employers with collective bargaining agreements.  

Unfortunately, given how difficult a fight it has been throughout the General Assembly, no one should celebrate until the bill is signed into law. As of late February, the Virginia Paid Sick Day bill (had passed both the Senate (23-17) and the House of Delegate (52-48) and is now in conference committee. 

One means for killing bills in Virginia is failing to provide money in the budget for the policy or its enforcement.  SB 481 made it out of both the House Appropriations Committee and the Senate Finance Committee with funds for enforcement. 

The General Assembly ends on March 7, so a bill must be sent to the Governor by then or it will die. Our network and partners will keep pressing. We are determined to see Virginia join the growing number of wins in the U.S. and add to pressure for a federal standard.. Learn more and stay abreast of recent developments at www.virginiainterfaithcenter.org.

By Kim Bobo, Executive Director of Virginia Interfaith Center on Public Policy