Approximately 40 percent of California?s workforce does not currently enjoy any paid sick leave, and all of them groaned yesterday as a proposed bill to provide it was shot down. The bill would have guaranteed a minimum 5 days of paid sick leave to all workers in California. Small businesses however said they were glad the bill folded under lobby pressure. National Federation of Independent Business director John Kabeteck says that most small businesses simply can?t afford paid leave. Many feared the bill would lead to job loss, by putting an increased burden on employers in a struggling economy.
See "Employers, costs kill paid sick leave bill", Mark Lifsher, Los Angeles Times, August 14, 2008