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State Democrats Split Over Paid Sick Days

As members of the General Assembly prepare to return to Richmond next month, many of them are looking for a way to make sure workers in Virginia get sick days.

Toward the end of the General Assembly session, lawmakers were about to approve a bill that would have required employers to offer paid sick days. But the economy was about to fall off a cliff, and many lawmakers were worried about the cost of paying for sick days for all those state workers. So a handful of conservative Democrats in the Senate killed the bill. Now lawmakers are considering options to bring it back. One is to create a temporary program for paid sick days, sunsetting the program at some point after the pandemic.

Delegate Elizabeth Guzman is a Democrat from Woodbridge, and she says she’s not really sure that would work. 

“There’s no money available," she explains. "So we need to come up with an option that will not have a fiscal impact but will be the best options for Virginians right now.”

The other option is limiting the benefit to employees who work 20 hours or more. Delegate Paul Krizek is a Democrat from Fairfax County, and he says excluding part-time workers is not ideal. But it’s a start. 

“It’s not the perfect bill, but at least those people who are working 20 hours a week would be included and would get paid sick leave," says Krizek. "We can always fix that in the future when the economy starts to bounce back.”

Lawmakers will be returning to Richmond next month, when advocates for paid sick days will try to figure out some way of getting the votes they need in the Senate.

This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.

Michael Pope is an author and journalist who lives in Old Town Alexandria.