New legislation (AB 1359 – Schiavo) protects healthcare workers who face retaliation or discipline for using their available sick leave, up to seven days per year
SACRAMENTO, CA – Nurses and healthcare workers who are members of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) in California today celebrated the introduction of legislation supporting their ability to care for Californians by ensuring they have the time off they need to recover from illness or care for loved ones. The bill, AB 1359, authored by Assemblymember Pilar Schiavo (D-Santa Clarita), protects healthcare workers from unlawful discipline or termination for using up to seven days of their accrued sick leave. Current law protects only three days of sick leave, far below the number of days most healthcare workers need to recover from illness, care for loved ones, or to simply take a break from the extremely stressful conditions under which they work.
Although most healthcare workers are entitled to more than three days of leave, either by their employer or as part of a union contract, some healthcare workers have reported facing discipline and even termination when they use their accrued personal time off. Because California law does not offer protection beyond three days (except for very specific provisions under the Family Medical Leave Act and other state and federal laws) individual supervisors can arbitrarily retaliate against certain employees for using their sick leave.
“I’m astounded that after saving countless lives during the COVID-19 pandemic and risking their own lives to care for sick Californians, healthcare workers are facing retaliation when they take time off to heal from illness or to care for sick family members,” said Assemblymember Schiavo. “I’m proud to stand with our heroic healthcare workers to ensure they can take their hard-earned sick leave when they need it.”
“For three years now, nurses have been celebrated as heroes. But that title hides a much darker reality. Throughout the pandemic, they worked in chaotic conditions without enough support—and they are hurting mentally, physically and emotionally,” said Leo Perez President, SEIU 121RN and a Registered Nurse at Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center. “For some, the impact of post-traumatic stress will last for years or may suddenly surface later. We must support them now by allowing them to take the time they need to get better—without the threat of retaliation. The burnout crisis is itself a threat to our healthcare system, and we can ill afford to lose more valued nurses and healthcare workers. This bill is one proactive step we can take to help stem the tide of staff turnover in our hospitals.”
Healthcare workers have exhausting and stressful jobs where they are regularly exposed to infectious diseases and face extreme trauma. Stress, burnout, and exposure are compounded by deliberate and dangerous understaffing in many healthcare settings; the profit-driven healthcare industry has exploited understaffing to extract cash from the healthcare system since long before the COVID-19 pandemic. And now, healthcare workers are leaving their jobs at an alarming rate. According to a recent survey from Morning Consult, one in five current healthcare workers is considering leaving the profession.
This legislation is an important plank in healthcare workers’ larger agenda this year to stabilize patient care which is suffering from understaffing, low wages, and undervaluing healthcare workers. SEIU members are also fighting for SB 525 (Durazo), which will raise wages for the lowest-paid healthcare workers, including those who provide services in nursing, caregiving, housekeeping, security, clerical, food services, laundry, and other patient care-related services.