Pallone Statement on Rule Requiring Sick Leave for Workers on Federal Contracts

Long Branch- Today, Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06) released the following statement on the Obama administration’s rule requiring federal government contractors to provide paid sick leave to their workers. The new rule will provide additional paid sick leave to an estimated 1.15 million people working as federal contractors, including an estimated 600,000 employees who currently receive no paid sick leave.

“I applaud the Obama administration for taking an important step to ensure over a million additional Americans will have paid sick leave. These workers will now be able to take much needed time to recover from an illness or care for a loved one.

“The overwhelming majority of industrialized countries require paid sick leave and we should now work to make it available to the 41 million Americans workers who go without it. That is why I am a proud cosponsor of the Healthy Families Act, which would allow workers to earn at least 1 hour of paid sick time for every 30 hours worked.”