Ohio Paid Sick Days Initiative on Ballot

Columbus, Ohio -- Ohioans for Healthy Families is a broad-based coalition of citizens and organizations in Ohio. They organized and proposed an Ohio legislative act that would require all business in Ohio with 25 or more employees to let workers earn up to 7 paid sick days during every calendar year. Part time employees would earn a pro-rated amount of paid sick leave. The Ohio legislature had a set timeline to act on this proposal, and failed to act.

The deadline passed on May 7. As a result, Ohioans for Healthy Families are now collecting over 120,000 signatures to place this legislation on the November ballot. All indications are they will succeed and this proposal will be on the November Ballot. Should this proposed legislation be affirmed by the voters, millions of Ohio workers who currently have no paid sick leave or less than seven days will be able to earn up to seven paid sick days each year.

Proponents of this legislation give a number of facts to support this initiative. They list the large number of workers in different types of industry that currently are not eligible for paid sick time. They also point out that the employees who work for the government all have paid sick days, and 42% of the non-government employees do not have paid sick days. The bar is set at companies with 25 or more employees, so smaller businesses will not be directly affected. In the details of the law you will note that the employee need not be the one who is actually ill, it can be one of the employee's family members. The paid sick time can also be taken in very small increments, even to leave an hour early for a medical appointment, for example.

On the surface there are some good, positive things that will protect employees. Some employers do expect their employees to show up no matter how bad they feel, and will not pay someone to stay home. If an employee has something very contagious, this could make an employee consider staying home and not getting everyone else sick. Working parents could schedule pediatrician appointments during business hours without loosing any pay or fearing job loss.

There are however some downsides to this legislation. According to an article in Crain's Cleveland Business, Employers with 25-30 employees may decide to restructure and make their business model work with no more than 24 employees. They would not have to pay sick time, and a few more people would be out of work. Additionally, some employees could abuse this legislation and leave an hour early every Friday because they have a headache and get paid for that hour. This legislation is part of a plan to make Ohio a worker-friendly state, but it could also drive away existing and potential employers who would rather set up shop in bordering states with less expense and regulation.

Watching the political ads on television this fall should be interesting. Each side is going to have its say, and it won't be decided until Election Day.