The New York City Council is debating an ambitious paid sick days bill. Lobbyists from New York’s biggest corporations are fighting hard to kill it, while a grassroots coalition of restaurant workers and public health advocates are pushing it. The proponents pointed out an interesting irony last week. The City Council recently passed a bill guaranteeing five weeks vacation for a single industry: horse-drawn carriages around Central Park. Yup, the horses are guaranteed five weeks of what I suppose you could call paid leave.
Now, I don’t begrudge the benefits earned by our equine brothers and sisters. But if horses deserve five week vacations, then surely humans deserve at least five days to deal with medical needs, doctor’s appointments, or just to recuperate from a cold.
What says Mayor Bloomberg? Naaaaayyyyyyyy (Ok, terrible pun, I couldn’t resist.)