The facts about sick employees at work are, well, sickening. Three in ten employees say they have contracted the flu virus from a co-worker and average lost productivity to businesses (per employee per year) when employees show up to work despite suffering from a respiratory infection is $133.84. Add that to the fact that the flu virus can stay alive on inanimate surfaces like a door handle or office desk for up to eight hours, and it's not surprising that Americans are getting sick from going to work.

But it's not like all these sick workers want to be at work, coughing on their desks and spreading germs to their co-workers. One in three employees with paid sick leave worry that taking time off when they are sick would jeopardize their job, and 80% of Americans agree that employers should be required to provide paid sick days, according to a 2007 poll.

Although 136 countries require employers to provide a week of paid sick leave annually, the U.S. currently has no such requirement. However, recently San Francisco became the first place in the nation to guarantee paid sick leave to every full or part-time employee in the city. According to the law, employers can use the sick leave either for personal illness or that of a family member.

Following San Francisco's lead, Washington D.C. mandated paid sick leave this past March, and the Healthy Families Act, a national paid sick leave bill, is currently under debate. By keeping sick employees out of the workplace, paid sick leave policies are expected to decrease employee turnover, reduce spreading disease, and increase productivity.

Next Wednesday, May 28, DMI will be hosting a Marketplace of Ideas event on paid sick leave featuring Sara Flocks, co-founder of Young Workers United, which led the led the successful effort to pass the sick leave bill. We'll also have a fantastic panel to discuss what New York and the nation can learn from San Francisco's new law. The panel will include Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, the Co-sponsor of the Healthy Families Act, a national paid sick leave bill, New York City Councilwoman Gale Brewer, and David R. Jones, President & CEO of the Community Service Society of New York. The panel will be moderated by DMI's Andrea Batista Schlesinger.

The event is free, and there will even be free breakfast! Here are the details:

WEDNESDAY, MAY 28, 2008
8:00-10:00 a.m.
The Harvard Club
35 West 44th Street (bet. 5th & 6th Avenues)
light breakfast will be served

P.S. Don't come if you're sick. For more reasons on why you should stay home, check out DMI's newest injustice index.