Voters are poised to approve paid sick days in 3 states
Voters in Nebraska and Missouri are projected to approve ballot measures that would guarantee workers paid sick days and the measure is well ahead in Alaska, according to The New York Times. The Missouri and Alaska measures would also eventually raise the minimum wage in those states to $15 an hour.
With nearly all of the expected vote reported, the Nebraska measure passed 74% to 26%, and Missouri's passed 58% to 42%. With a little more than three-quarters of the expected vote in in Alaska, its measure is ahead 57% to 43%, but hasn't been officially projected yet.
The states will join 14 others and Washington, D.C. in guaranteeing paid sick days for workers for short-term illnesses and to take care of sick family members. Most of the measures require employers to allow employees to accrue time off for hours worked and prevent them from retaliating against employees who use them. The push for paid sick days predates the COVID-19 pandemic, but became even more pressing while the country tried to control the spread of the virus. While a short-lived federal law allowed workers affected by the coronavirus to take paid time off, the U.S. remains one of the only among its few peer countries that does not have a federal law guaranteeing paid sick days or longer term paid medical and family leave for workers.
Harris made paid family leave (which provides for longer-term leaves, not just sick days) a key part of her platform, but it didn't translate into support for her candidacy. But it's not unusual for voters in red states to pass progressive ballot measures while also voting for more progressive candidates who may not support those same measures. These three are just the latest of many worker-friendly policies have passed by ballot initiative across the country in recent years.
