With the worst of the flu season pretty much over with, many Florida residents have been watching the news closely as cities and states across the nation have been tackling the difficult issue of offering compensation during sick leave. And although some businesses here in the state offer paid time off for sick days, it's worth noting that we do not yet have a law that requires companies to do so.
But with the Huffington Post estimating approximately $160 billion lost every year due to lost productivity as a result of illness, it begs the question of whether companies should be forced to give workers paid time off or not.
When performing business planning measures, heads of companies must carefully consider what it will cost the company to do business from year to year. Factoring in paid sick leave may or may not even register on their radar. But like we mentioned above, not planning for workers falling ill could cost a company in the end.
Some sources estimate that workers who are not offered paid time off are 1.5 times more likely to go into work while sick, possibly spreading the illness to the entire office in return. Sick workers are generally less productive than healthy workers, the resulting lack of productivity is considered to be worse than having the person absent from their job.
But in states where paid-time-off laws are already being enforced, many companies are saying that the requirement for sick days is costing them more than they had previously budgeted. As a result, some companies have been forced to raise costs and cut wages and labor to offset the financial strain.
So could Florida be next to pass laws requiring paid time off? At this point only time will tell; but by giving businesses a heads up now, they might have a chance at avoiding the financial strain if the laws change.
Source: The Wall Street Journal, "Legislators Step Up Push for Paid Sick Leave," Melanie Trottman, Feb. 22, 2013
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