Why should we be excited about this? Here are some reasons provided in the Governor’s press release, along with a translation to what it means in our real lives.

According to the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, “working sick costs the national economy $273 billion annually in lost productivity”. OK, that is a lot of money, but what does it mean to the average business? People who come to work when they are sick are not at their best. They are more likely to make mistakes, work at a slower rate, and of course get their co-workers sick if they are on-site.

According to Economic Policy Institute, two days of unpaid sick time is nearly the equivalent of a month’s worth of groceries. I don’t know where they do their shopping, but two days at $20/hour gross is $320. Taking out for taxes and other deductions, we are looking at closer to $240. If you don’t drink wine or eat meat, live by yourself, don’t have pets, and are sticking to a 600 calorie/day diet, maybe you could get a month’s worth of groceries on that, but in San Diego two days of unpaid sick time probably has a lot stronger impact. The point is that if people have to be out of work without Paid Sick Leave, they can’t feed themselves or their families, and none of us wants that.