The following essay will address the foundational ideological flaws surrounding the lack of paid sick leave in the US. Currently, if a worker shows to up to work sick, the employer is legally allowed to send them home without pay. This is wrong for multiple reasons. First, sick days are typically awarded in high paying jobs. It is to the lower class that a lack of sick days usually pertains to. This demographic is already struggling for money, and not allowing them to earn money because of an illness is especially discriminatory. If a low-income worker is not allowed to earn money due to their illness, it makes the financial responsibility of medical bills even more daunting. What this system usually amounts to is a large number of employees coming to work ill- and then spreading their illness to fellow employees. Not awarding sick leave affects whole institutions through this cycle of illness-sharing. Imagine a struggling mother or father living month-to-month to pay the bills coming down with the flu. This person would understandably feel obligated to come to work to earn money to buy groceries and clothes, despite the risk of spreading a potentially fatal disease to others in their work place. This temptation would be eliminated if sick leave were to be legally mandatory to allot to each worker. Moreover, the opportunity to take time to heal from an illness should not be a luxury for only the middle and upper class, but a fundamental human right afforded to all.
Writing without deadlines 