Sick leave a minor cost

The United States is the only developed country in the world that doesn’t have a national requirement that workers get access to paid sick leave. On average, most full-time workers in the U.S. have approximately 250 work days per year. This is calculated as 52 weeks per year times five days per week, minus about 10 paid holidays, which equals 250 days. The average American worker also gets 16 days of paid leave per year.

If you reduce the 250 work days per year by the average of 16 paid vacation days, this equals an average of 234 work days a year. Dividing the proposed maximum of five days of sick leave for larger businesses that the Spokane City Council has approved by the current 234 work days a year, the result is an insignificant 2 percent increase in labor costs to Spokane businesses that would be impacted by this change.

It doesn’t seem appropriate for Mayor David Condon to veto this legislation when it will result in such a minor cost increase to Spokane businesses. If businesses are operating with a 2 percent profit, are they really economically viable?

Kelly Courtright

Deer Park