The Fairfax County Times published this letter from Dr. Rommaan Ahmad on December 11, 2020 making the case for paid sick leave throughout the Commonwealth. Virginia Organizing is a member of the Paid Sick for VA Coalition. Read the letter here.

From the letter:

“Over the past eight months, I’ve cared for patients who have suffered with COVID-19 and those who have been exposed to people with the new coronavirus. Many of them, thankfully, didn’t require hospitalization. In these cases, they have been prescribed medication to try to alleviate mild symptoms. They have been sent home and told to quarantine themselves at home for 14 days. That’s when things go sideways.

“Far too many of them don’t stay home because they can’t get out of work. If they don’t show up at their job, they don’t get a paycheck. So, they have to haul their COVID-19 infected bodies to work, clock in, stay silent about their diagnosis and increase the risk of spreading the disease to others.”

Do your state senator and delegate support #PaidSick4VA? Call and urge them to vote in January for legislation requiring employers to provide it. It makes sense in every way, during this crisis and after, to make sure that people can take care of themselves, their families, and their community when they are sick.

From the article:

“For those of us who still go out to eat, four out of every five restaurant workers have no paid sick leave. For those of us who drop our kids off at the daycare center, three out of four of the people who work there and care for our children have no paid sick leave. 

“When our restaurant server can’t take time off because they’re sick, they’re putting other people at risk by transmitting disease. When a child care employee can’t take time off to care for an ailing family member, that’s an unfair burden on them and their loved ones. When an essential worker stays through a shift while sick, they’re less likely to be productive, affecting everything from service to quality to safety.”