American workers have some unlikely allies in the fight forpaid sick days. California Republican MimiWalters has sponsored a bill that would encourage companiesto provide 14 to 20 days of paid time off, and big business lovesit.

Currently in committee, the bill would also encourage companiesto allow for flexible work arrangements like job sharing, orworking remotely. On average, companies currently offer 10days of vacation and 10 days of sick leave per year; the newlegislation would lump all days off into one category, which wouldinclude sick time, vacation and holidays.

The measure would create a national paid-time off policy forsick days and other personal needs, and businesses that complywould be exempt from tougher state and municipal rules. There areat least 40 different local laws designed to protect workers frombeing fired or disciplined for trying to follow doctor’s orders.About one-third of U.S. workers get paid sick days, either becauselocal law requires it or their company offers itvoluntarily.

“The problem really is the maze of state and local laws outthere,” said Mark Wilson, chief economist at the HR Policy Association, the public-policyadvocacy group for human resources executives at large U.S.companies, and a supporter of the bill. “The laws are becoming moreand more difficult for large employers to comply with on acost-effective basis.”

San Francisco passed the first local paid sick day law in 2006.Connecticut passed the first state law in 2011. California and sixother states have followed, with Rhode Island adding a law thisyear. New Jersey alone has 13 different local rules.

Most of the current local laws give employees the right torequest sick days without notice, and employers can almost neverdeny them. The new federal legislation would allow managers toreject workers’ requests for time off.

Opponents say that’s a cruiser-sized loophole. Weakeningthat protection is “dangerous and deceptive,” said Ellen Bravo,director of the Family Values @ Work consortium, anetwork of state coalitions advocating for paid sick days andfamily leave for all workers. “The employer might say, ‘It’sinconvenient, you can’t take it. I need you to reschedule thatchemo or reschedule that kid’s doctor appointment.’”

The Society of Human Resources, an association for HRprofessionals, helped design the bill, and it says abuse won’t betolerated. Any company that violated the sick day rules would endup back under the jurisdiction of the state laws they are trying toavoid. Oversight would come under the same law that currentlyguides voluntary employer health-care and retirement benefits.

“There will be times when an employer says, ‘Sorry, you can’tuse the leave today’ because of the time the request happens, orit’s a busy time of the year,” said Mike Aitken, vice president ofgovernment affairs at SHRM. “We think the instances in which leavewill be denied will be few.”

The bill is supported by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, National Association of Manufacturers, andthe Association of Women Business Owners and opposed by theNational Partnership for Women & Families, Momsrising and theAmerican Sustainable Business Council,among others. Both sides agree that national rules wouldfinally encourage more businesses to offer the benefit to part-timeworkers.

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