Grocery and restaurant workers rarely get paid sick leave. This could worsen Covid-19’s spread
The coronavirus pandemic may be making the clearest case for paid sick leave yet: Workers along the food supply chain—from grocery stores to fast food restaurants—overwhelmingly report not being able to afford time off should they contract Covid-19. Even some companies that offer paid sick leave on paper reportedly retaliate against workers who use it. This is in spite of emerging research that finds the benefit may not actually be that costly for employers to provide. Besides, do we really want sick people coming into any workspace? Recently, The New York Times editorial board made the case for federally mandated paid sick leave, and urged consumers to boycott companies that fail to provide it. Consider it a form of social isolation.
