As shown, the need for paid sick leave has been widely studied with the financial and societal benefits well understood and documented; however federal legislation to protect this basic labour standard still proves to be elusive. One may pose the question, why? Perhaps it is due to apathy on the part of those who are better placed to shape society and coincidently are often employees who are likely to already have comfortable paid leave plans. It is these individuals who I would like to address with this report. I will argue that a paid sick leave standard is not only important for all of the reasons summarised above, but it is also important to each American, even those who currently have the privilege of generous leave plans. Protection of a minimal standard of paid sick leave along with other labour standards such as paid family leave would be one way in which the country can strengthen the middle class which in turn provides long term financial and personal stability for every citizen.
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