Earlier this week, WLP Managing Attorney Terry L. Fromson testified on behalf of Women’s Law Project and Community Legal Services to express strong support for Philadelphia City Council Bill Number 200303, otherwise known as Public Health Emergency Leave.
The bill will provide up to 80 hours of public health emergency leave to all workers not eligible for COVID-related federal paid sick leave. The emergency leave would be available immediately and would provide workers with the same benefits they had while working.
This Public Health Emergency Leave would cover people unable to work because the worker:
- has COVID-19symptoms
- is seeking a medical diagnosis
- is told to quarantine or isolate by the government or their doctor
- is caring for someone else who is in quarantine or isolation
- is caring for a child whose caretaker is closed or unavailable
From our testimony, which you can download or read in full here:
“This lack of coverage for people of color working on the frontlines is particularly disturbing in light of the data showing that black and brown people are dying at higher rates from COVID-19- related complications because of systemic racism that has resulted in a higher incidence of underlying health conditions, exposure to the virus, food insecurity, and lack of access to health care, among other barriers.”
Bill sponsor City Councilperson Kendra Brooks pointed out that federal paid sick leave protections leave out approximately three million Pennsylvania workers. If passed into law, it would expire on Dec. 31, to coincide with the sunsetting of federal paid sick leave law related to COVID-19.
“Increasing the amount and improving the accessibility of paid sick leave during a public health emergency is not only good public health policy, it’s also the right thing to do,” Councilperson Brooks said during Monday’s hearing.
Numerous workers testified to the bind they are in when, after diligently going to work through the pandemic, they fall ill and are either told to go home without paid leave, or continue working because they cannot afford to stop without paid leave.
The protections of this bill are urgently needed to protect workers and the public health. The bill successfully passed out of Committee on Monday, June 22, 2020.
On Thursday June 25, the bill was heard on first reading. City Council has now recessed for summer, which means the bill not be acted on further until September, 2020.
Unless that changes, workers who are currently working and those who are returning to workplaces will be deprived of the paid leave they so desperately need while the pandemic continues.
The Women’s Law Project is a public interest law center in Pennsylvania devoted to advancing and defending the rights of women, girls, and LGBTQ+ people in Pennsylvania and beyond.
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