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SHOULD YOU GO TO WORK IF YOU MIGHT BE SICK? For people who earn hourly wages or don't normally have access to paid sick leave, the choice of whether to stay home if they have symptoms
of or exposure to COVID-19 is not an easy one. Here's the guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to employers: “Actively encourage employees who have symptoms
of COVID-19 or who have a sick family member at home with COVID-19 to notify their supervisor and stay home." But taking time off from work might be difficult for people who don't
get paid sick leave. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, nearly 33.6 million people didn't have access to paid sick leave through their jobs last year. Among workers who
earned $13.80 per hour or less, only 51 percent could take paid sick leave. Recognizing the risks of forcing so many people to choose between their income and the health of others during a
pandemic, lawmakers enacted the Families First Coronavirus Response Act in March. That law requires more employers to provide paid sick leave and family medical leave to workers through Dec.
31. In general, the Families First act requires employers to provide up to two weeks (80 hours) of paid sick leave at a worker's regular pay rate to those experiencing COVID-19
symptoms or self-quarantining. This law also requires employers to provide up to two weeks (80 hours) of leave at two-thirds of the worker's pay rate if the employee needs to take time
off to provide caregiving for someone who is quarantined. But companies with more than 500 employees are exempted from providing the Families First sick leave benefits (though many larger
companies already offer paid sick leave). And, on the other end of the spectrum, small businesses with 50 employees or fewer also can seek exemptions if offering the benefit would
“jeopardize the viability of the business.” There are some signs that paid sick leave laws may be helping to slow the spread of the coronavirus. A new study from Georgia State University
found that such laws did keep people from working while they were sick. “If paid sick leave helps stop people from attending work while sick and prevents the spread of disease as a result,
this has important policy implications in today's fight to contain COVID-19,” says Michael Pesko, who cowrote the report.