The bill which Pelosi and Mnuchin hammered out was perhaps a bit shortsighted with regard to any worker, and seems to cover only businesses with 50 or less and favors the McDonaldsā and larger brands who will not be forced to give sick pay to sick workers.
I suppose at the 11th hour, it was something as opposed to nothing for getting funds, food and an umbrella over the most needy during this time. I do not blame Pelosiā¦it is what she could get. The NYTās editorial board has a big pointā¦but there are a LOT of fronts that need attending to with this administration.
And the Rās of course took it as their win too.
Sigh
In fact, the bill guarantees sick leave only to about 20 percent of workers. Big employers like McDonaldās and Amazon are not required to provide any paid sick leave, while companies with fewer than 50 employees can seek hardship exemptions from the Trump administration.
āIf you are sick, stay home,ā Vice President Mike Pence said at a news conference on Saturday afternoon. āYouāre not going to miss a pay check.ā
But thatās simply not true. Sick workers should stay home, but there is no guarantee in the emergency legislation that most of them will get paid.
The White House and congressional Republicans, who insisted on the exemptions as the price of bipartisan support for the legislation, bear the primary responsibility for the indefensible decision to prioritize corporate profits in the midst of a public health emergency.
But House Democrats also failed to act in the public interest. Paying sick workers to stay at home is both good policy and good politics. Why not pass a bill that required all employers to provide paid sick leave and then force Republicans to explain their objections to the public?
The bill does require some employers to provide full-time workers with up to 10 days of paid leave. But the requirement does not apply to the nationās largest employers ā companies with 500 or more workers, who together employ roughly 54 percent of all workers.
After a Waffle House employee tested positive for the coronavirus earlier this month, the company refused to promise it would pay other sick workers to stay home. Now, under the new bill, it would qualify for the big-company exemption. Would Ms. Pelosi please explain why the House decided not to require Waffle House to protect its workers and customers by paying for sick leave?
The legislation also provides some compensation for workers who need to take longer leaves under the Family and Medical Leave Act ā but this too excludes workers at big companies.
And the bill allows the Labor Department to grant hardship exemptions to businesses with fewer than 50 employees. That category includes another 26 percent of the work force, meaning that fully 80 percent of workers may not be able to cash in on Ms. Pelosiās rhetoric.
