Providing employees with paid sick leave is good for workers, good for businesses, and good for North Carolina’s economy

Everyone gets sick, but more than a million workers in North Carolina have no opportunity to earn paid sick leave. When illness inevitably strikes, they must take unpaid time off—sacrificing their wages so they can get well or care of sick loved ones. They may even face retaliation from their employers and could lose their jobs.

Two companion bills have been introduced in the state House and Senate to address this problem: The Healthy Families & Workplaces/Paid Sick Days Act (HB 270 and SB 339). These bills would allow workers to earn an hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked, for up to 4 days for leave for employees of small businesses and up to 7 days for employees of medium and larger businesses.