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Sick leave policies pick up steam

Posted at 7:16 PM, Jul 29, 2014
and last updated 2014-07-29 19:16:04-04
Biviana Lagunas must skip class or her own job when brother Derik is sick, because her mother can't take time off from her hotel job. That could change, since San Diego's city council just required sick leave.

Biviana Lagunas must skip class or her own job when brother Derik is sick, because her mother can’t take time off from her hotel job. That could change, since San Diego’s city council just required sick leave.

WASHINGTON — Biviana Lagunas must skip class or her part-time job when her 4-year-old germ-magnet brother Derik is running a fever, because their mother has no paid time off.

That could change, because the San Diego city council was one of two cities — the other being Eugene, Ore. — to pass new laws mandating paid sick leave on Monday.

“Sometimes I have four exams to study for, and yet I put that aside to take my brother to the doctor, because my mother can’t take off work,” said Lagunas, a University of San Diego student who works part-time as a cashier on campus. Neither her nor her mother, a hotel worker, get paid sick leave.