SB 352 Requires Employers to Grant Paid Sick Leave to Healthcare and Grocery Store Workers
Richmond, Virginia – Today, the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee approved Senator Scott Surovell’s legislation to guarantee paid sick leave for grocery and healthcare workers with bipartisan support by a vote of 12 to 3. The bill represents the most significant step forward for paid sick leave in Virginia. “Our healthcare and grocery store workers have been crucial to steering us through the pandemic. I am proud to see this legislation move forward, knowing it will be a great relief to those who have sacrificed so much for us, and will help keep these essential workers and those they come in contact with safe” Surovell said.
In April, 2021 and before the Omicron strain emerged, the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) estimated that 91,000 members had been infected and 456 members killed by COVID-19. The World Health Organization estimates that between 80,000 and 180,000 healthcare workers may have died from COVID-19 during the pandemic.
Worker’s rights advocates celebrated the bill’s passage. “This bill is a huge step, as Virginia builds momentum to expand paid sick days,” said Kim Bobo, Executive Director of the Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy, a member of the Virginians for Paid Sick Days coalition. “This is the most significant paid sick days bill to ever pass out of the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee. It would mean that more than 120,000 front-line workers wouldn’t have to choose between a paycheck and taking care of their health or their family’s health. And it would set a clear standard for all businesses in Virginia to keep employees and customers healthy. Thank you to Sen. Surovell for championing this bill on behalf of Virginia workers and businesses.”
The bill now goes to the Senate floor for a vote on final passage later this week.
A 2021 poll from Christopher Newport University’s Wason Center shows that 88 percent of Virginians support a law that would require employers to provide 5 paid sick days per year to all Virginians. Studies show that employees working while sick cost the national economy approximately $160 billion per year.
Even before COVID-19, 41 percent of private sector workers, 1.2 million workers in Virginia, had no paid sick days or any paid time off. A new study by Harvard University researchers shows that two-thirds Virginia service-sector workers at large employers, including grocery store workers, have no access to paid sick days. The lack of paid sick days creates a crisis for low-wage workers who must choose between taking a sick day for themselves or to care for a family member and getting paid. If they bring COVID-19 into the workplace, they risk the health of their colleagues and the public at-large.