Rhode Island companies balk at mandatory paid sick leave

Few companies say they want their employees to come to work sick.

But many are adamant that the government shouldn’t mandate paid sick time and oppose a bill being debated by state lawmakers that would allow all Rhode Island workers to earn up to seven days paid sick time per year.

The paid sick leave push is the centerpiece proposal of the General Assembly’s progressive wing, which has scored a few victories in recent years and gained seats in last November’s election.

Both Massachusetts and Connecticut mandate paid sick days, but the laws in those states are less generous to workers than the Rhode Island proposal, sponsored in the House by Providence Democrat Aaron Regunberg and in the Senate by Majority Whip Maryellen Goodwin.

Read more: http://www.providencejournal.com/news/20170414/ri-companies-balk-at-mandatory-paid-sick-leave