Sign the petition: Demand Congress pass paid sick leave legislation to protect all American workers.

U.S. Congress

As our country and the global community respond to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, our public health policies must rise to the occasion to protect as many people as possible from transmitting and contracting the virus. And as workers’ rights advocates, we know our government is past due in ensuring all workers receive necessary protections and benefits like paid sick leave.

In the wake of this pandemic, there are thousands confirmed cases that we know of, with many more likely carrying the coronavirus. So, we must rely on changing our behavior to protect one another. This includes people who have coronavirus symptoms self-quarantining -- no contact with the outside world -- for 14 days. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) has also issued guidance to drastically curb gatherings of 10 people or more for the next eight weeks.

In order to ensure maximum safety precautions are abided by the general public, lawmakers must protect workers, especially low wage and domestic workers, who are not guaranteed paid sick leave. In countries like China, Singapore, and South Korea, which were the earliest countries hit with the coronavirus, social distancing and quarantining have proven to be the best protections for our most vulnerable community members, the elderly and people who are immunocompromised. While the House passed a legislative package including some paid sick leave for U.S. workers, this only applies to about 20% of all U.S. workers and only applies to companies with fewer than 500 employees.

With agreement on a bipartisan emergency relief package to address the coronavirus -- of which gives some workers paid leave -- the $2 trillion deal still leaves out a vast majority of workers. It is up to us to hold lawmakers accountable by pushing for paid sick leave in the wake of the coronavirus, and lay the groundwork for long-term workers’ rights expansions beyond this global crisis.

Sign the petition: Demand Congress pass legislation to protect workers with guaranteed paid sick leave.

Participating Organizations:
Action Center on Race & the Economy
Chesapeake Climate Action Network Action Fund
Corporate Accountability
Daily Kos
Friends of the Earth Action
Jobs With Justice
People For the American Way
Pride at Work
RootsAction.org
Seeding Sovereignty
United for Respect

To: U.S. Congress
From: [Your Name]

Thank you for taking the global COVID-19 pandemic seriously and working around the clock to ensure our country is equipped with preparedness plans. In order to protect the most vulnerable community members and reduce risk of exposure to and transmission of the coronavirus, you must pass legislation guaranteeing paid sick leave for all workers.