Rhode Island paid sick days debate starting to heat up

“I had a stomach virus and I was serving to elderly people and children. I definitely infected more people than if I could have just stayed home.” —Casey Sardo, a former Johnson & Wales University student

PROVIDENCE (AP) — Line chefs and waiters who help power Rhode Island's food industry are at odds with their employers on a proposal that would require businesses to provide paid days off when workers call in sick.

In a small state proud of its waterfront seafood shacks and crowded urban eateries, the debate has led to competing claims over whether a sick leave mandate would help or hurt the local economy.

The debate took a surprisingly heated turn Wednesday when Rhode Island State Police investigated a profanity-laced email sent to the bill's main proponent, Democratic state Sen. Maryellen Goodwin, warning that small businesses were "extremely close to violent opposition" over the proposal. The seafood restaurant owner whose email address was used to send the message denied sending it, and police quickly dropped the case, saying the email's content didn't rise to the level of criminal charges.

"That was an old Gmail account that has been hacked," said Kevin Durfee, owner of George's of Galilee in Narragansett, in an interview. "Why waste your time writing something about this? It wasn't me."

The controversy only emboldened sick leave proponents as a Senate panel prepared to hold a Wednesday hearing on the bill.

Democratic state Rep. Aaron Regunberg, who has sponsored companion legislation in the House of Representatives, said if there are bosses "willing to speak in that language, that's evidence why there are workers out there who need state protections."

Goodwin and Regunberg have been negotiating with worker advocates and business groups over a mandate similar to what's been adopted in seven other states, as well as cities from New York to Minneapolis.

"If people are allowed to call out when they're sick, that's going to prevent the spread of disease," said Casey Sardo, who caught a stomach bug while working at an upscale sports bar two years ago but went into work anyway.

The 21-year-old said she got two co-workers sick, and probably some customers, too. She was paying for college and couldn't afford not to show up. Advocates say few of the state's estimated 40,000 restaurant workers have access to paid sick days. A total of about 170,000 workers in the state don't have sick days, comprising about 40 percent of the private sector workforce.

"I had a stomach virus and I was serving to elderly people and children," said Sardo, who graduated last year with culinary and nutrition degrees from Johnson & Wales University in Providence. "I definitely infected more people than if I could have just stayed home."

Rhode Island business advocates have opposed the legislation, saying it would harm employers, including those that already offer paid sick leave but would have to conform to new procedures for tracking hours.

The Senate Labor Committee was scheduled to consider a scaled-back compromise measure Wednesday, though it wasn't clear if negotiators have yet come to an agreement. It could be the final chance for proponents to move the bill forward this year before lawmakers are expected to adjourn their annual session next week.

The original legislation would have required employers to provide workers up to seven paid sick days to care for their own health or a family member's.

"As drafted, it would be one of the most generous in the country in terms of hours per year," said Elizabeth Suever, a lobbyist for the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce who has been pushing for changes to scale it back.

One option is dropping the mandate to five days, matching what's offered in neighboring Massachusetts and Connecticut.

Also being debated is an exemption for small business owners. In Massachusetts, businesses with fewer than 10 employees are exempt. Connecticut, which was the first state to enact a paid sick leave mandate, exempts businesses with fewer than 50 employees. Rhode Island paid sick leave advocates say that exemption excludes too many workers.