Fight For Paid Sick Leave Starts In Massachusetts

[Mass]

http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2013/08/08/2433531/massachusetts-paid-sick-leave/

On Wednesday, Raise Up Massachusetts, a coalition of labor, religious, and community groups, filed a proposed ballot question that would guarantee that the state’s workers have access to paid sick leave. Sen. Edward Markey (D-MA) is the lead petitioner. Business owners, workers, community leaders, and clergy members also submitted their signatures.
The group’s proposal would allow workers to earn one hour of sick time for every 30 hours worked with a cap at 40 hours a year.
State law requires that ten voters sign an initiative petition, and then the state Attorney General must approve both questions. After that approval, the Secretary of State will provide petition forms to the organizers, who must get 200,000 supporter signatures by December 4.
The same group also filed a petition to raise the state’s minimum wage to $10.50 an hour by 2016 and raise the wage for tipped workers. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) is the lead signer for that initiative.
Raise Up Massachusetts calculates that nearly 1 million workers in the state don’t have access to paid time off when they or a loved one falls ill. Many workers across the country face a similar dilemma: 40 percent of private sector workers can’t take a paid day off when they get sick, including 80 percent of low-income workers
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