House of Representative Introduces Sick Leave for Flu-Related Illnesses
In response to the flu pandemic, the U.S. House of Representatives introduced legislation requiring employers with 15 or more employees to provide up to five (5) days of paid sick leave for workers they send home or advise to stay home with the flu or other contagious diseases. The legislation would apply to both full time and part time workers, and would exclude employers who already provide at least five days of sick pay. Further, if an employer believes an employee is well enough to return to work and notifies them of that belief, they can end paid sick leave and the employee can continue on unpaid leave under the Family Medical leave Act (FMLA) or other available leaves.
If the bill is passed into law, it would take effect within 15 days of being enacted, and would expire after two years.
The text of the bill can be found at http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h111-3991