Massachusetts Paid Sick Days

We're making great progress in the fight for Paid Sick Days in Massachusetts. So far, MomsRising members have had a big impact, saving the crucial bill from getting lost in committee. Now, we've hit a legislative speed bump and need to push the Senate to conduct a full vote on the bill. Join our efforts today to ensure paid sick days for all becomes a reality in Massachusetts!

Read about how MomsRising members contributed to the effort below

Action Count!

Our MomsRising members from Massachusetts have been hard at work, contacting their legislators 17,038 times since February of 2007.

Massachusetts residents--click here to take action!

Campaign Recap:

MomsRising.org Members in Massachusetts know how important paid sick days are in order to promote public health and economic stability. Since February 2007, we have sent nearly 15,000 letters to state legislators. Members also implemented the creative “Apple Gram” outreach, which delivered apples adorned with messages about the Paid Sick Days Bill to legislators. The Paid Sick Days Bill has also benefited from a public hearing and numerous discussions with both advocates and members of the business community.

Facts to inspire you:

Right now nearly half of all Massachusetts workers, and over 85% of people who work in restaurants don't have a single paid sick day.
Massachusetts' Secretary of Health and Human Services, Dr. Judy Ann Bigby, recently noted that a lack of paid sick days often leads to an increase in costly emergency room visits, as people are less likely to benefit from preventative health care if they are without paid sick days.
Concurrently, the Massachusetts Division of Health Care Finance and Policy estimates that an incredible 47% of emergency room visits in the state of Massachusetts could be prevented by improving access to primary care. Guaranteeing the right of paid sick days for all workers would be a positive step towards increasing widespread access to preventative health care.
The Institute for Women's Policy Research reported that making paid sick days available for all workers would prevent an estimated 33,000 cases of the flu each year--and would save employees and their families over $16 million yearly in lost wages and illness-related expenses.

About the Paid Sick Days Act:

Senate Bill S1073, an Act Establishing Paid Sick Days, was introduced in February of 2007. The Paid Sick Days Act would ensure all Massachusetts workers the ability to earn 7 days of paid time off annually to take care of their own illness or that of an immediate family member. The Paid Sick Days Act will ensure that all workers have time to address crucial personal and family health needs.

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