About Us Portfolio Press Careers Sitemap Advertise Contact Us Make this your Homepage

Custom Search

Register

Sign In

Sign In Using Facebook

Home » General Health News

No Paid Sick Leave Toughens Swine Flu Battle in US

by Sreeraman on November 11, 2009 at 1:47 PM General Health News

Along with scarce vaccine and shrinking stocks of antivirals, the United States faces another enemy in the fight against swine flu: workers who go to work when they're ill because they don't get paid sick leave.

No Paid Sick Leave Toughens Swine Flu Battle in US

Related Links

The A(H1N1) virus "is causing an emergency for workers and families across the country," Democratic Senator Chris Dodd told a Senate subcommittee hearing Tuesday on paid sick leave in a time of pandemic flu.

The United States is one of only five countries in the world without a national policy on paid sick leave, Dodd said.

"We're in the company - and I say this respectfully of these countries - of Lesotho, Liberia, Papua-New Guinea and Swaziland. Those countries and the United States are the five that don't have paid sick leave," Dodd said.

"Five nations, four of whom are struggling economies, barely surviving as nation-states, and the richest country in the world," he told a hearing in the Senate health, education, labor and pensions subcommittee.

Many of the 57 million US private sector workers who don't get paid if they take a day off because of illness are in low-paid jobs such as catering or the hotel industry. Related article: Bill Clinton spurs US Senate on Health care bill

For them, contracting the swine flu "means you have a choice: either go into work sick and risk infecting your co-workers or stay home and lose a day's pay," Dodd said.

Page 1

Page 1 | 2

Next

Sordid Affairs of China�s Healthcare System

Polio Vaccinations Begin for 2.6 Million Children in DR Congo

More News on: Swine Flu

Comment & Contribute

Be the first to comment!
Comments should be on the topic and should not be abusive. Comments are normally moderated and are reviewed after they are posted.
* Your comment can be maximum of 2500 characters
	Notify me when reply is posted I agree to the terms and conditions
Your comments are automatically posted once they are submitted. All comments are however constantly reviewed for spam and irrelevant material (such as product or personal advertisements, email addresses, telephone numbers and website address). Such insertions do not conform to our policy and 'Terms of Use' and are either deleted or edited and republished. Please keep your comments brief and relevant.This section may also have questions seeking help. If you have the information you are welcome to respond, but please ensure that the information so provided is genuine and not misleading.

Health News Index

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

SLIDE SHOW

Comments

Latest News Most Popular Most Commented

RSBY to Provide Health Insurance for 66,000 J&K Families

Same-sex Couples in US can Now Access Health Insurance

Children With Sleep Apnea May Benefit From PAP Therapy

Russia Alarmed Over Soaring Teenage Suicides

Study Provides Evidence of Malaria's Impact on Fetal Growth

News Archive
Date :
Category :
Keyword :

News Quick Links

	News Central			Health Watch
	Latest Health News			Health In Focus
	News Category (500+)			Breaking Health News
	Popular News			Celebrating Life
	Health News and Press Release			Medindia - Exclusive
	News Photo Gallery			India Special
	News Video Gallery			Lifestyle and Wellness
	News From Other Resources

Swine Flu

Complete Medindia Resources

News Categories:


»	Amitabh Bachchan to Undergo Minor Abdominal Surgery

»	Lady Gaga Battled Eating Disorders During Childhood

»	Acid Attack Survivor Katie Piper's Eyesight Restored After Stem Cell Surgery

»	I Will Draw Inspiration from Armstrong in Battling Illness: Yuvi

»	Eating Disorder Made Me Manipulative: Demi Lovato
More Celebrity News

General News
»	Now, a Mobile Euthanasia Team	»	Survey: Small Number of Physicians Admit Lying to Their Patients
»	Norovirus was the Cause of Cheerleader Illness, Say Lab Tests	»	Broken Bones may be Fixed in Less Than 4 Weeks by 'Fracture Putty'
»	Inexperienced Yoga Teachers Could Be Lethal	»	Bouncing �Rubber Eggs� Hit China Markets
»	Hope of Early Disease Detection Via Metabolic 'Breathalyzer'	»	'Brief Attention Span' in Kids These Days, Due to Inability to Read Dickens

Read More >>

No Paid Sick Leave Toughens Swine Flu Battle in US

General News

Consumers

Medical Professionals

Medical Students

Directories