Sick, safe leave is productive

I own a specialized small business in Spokane. When a member of our team gets sick and is unable to perform their duties, it puts a lot of pressure on the rest of our small team.

To mitigate this risk, we have an aggressive policy of employees staying home when they have even a hint of a cold. It’s a policy that has been strictly enforced, and is a very positive part of our corporate culture. It has also made us healthier and more productive as a company. In fact, none of our employees (to my knowledge) has become sick from anyone else at work. I believe this alone has cut our number of sick days in half, at a minimum.

But as careful as we are to mitigate illness by staying home when sick, we put ourselves (and our business) at risk by coming into contact with people in the community who are required (or feel pressure) to come to work sick.

A sick and safe leave ordinance for all workers helps ensure that we improve not only the health of our city, but the productivity of businesses in Spokane as well.

Ed Reese

Spokane