It was my first day of work after being home to care for my two children for six years. 

I was entering the work force with some trepidation; I had enjoyed my time at home with my two kids and valued the fact that I had been there for all the major milestones.

However, I was excited to start a career, face new challenges and to contribute to my family’s income.

As the three of us were hurriedly piling into the car my oldest child vomited all over the ground.

Every working mother has this moment or a moment very similar. The moment when you know you should run to your child to comfort him and tell him that everything is OK but, instead, you think: How am I going to explain this to my boss?

That day I did not call in sick. I instead called my mother who agreed to care for my six-year-old.

For many Maine workers, that is not an option. The Institute for Women’s Policy Research reports that 36 percent of the Maine work force lacks paid sick days.

This creates a painful choice for many Mainers between going to work ill or not being able to pay their mortgage, buy groceries or pay for electricity.

Many workers lose their jobs by choosing to stay home when ill; a normal, inevitable human condition. In fact, IWPR reports that about 11 percent of workers say they have lost a job for missing work when sick.

LD 1665, An Act to Prevent the Spread of H1N1, sponsored by Senate president and gubernatorial candidate Libby Mitchell, proposes to make sick days a mandatory benefit for Maine workers.

While the title is alarmist and somewhat off the mark, the bill does provide important benefits: 6.5 paid sick days per year for workers in businesses with 25 or more employees, and 3.25 paid sick days per year for workers in businesses with 24 or fewer employees.

Workers will accumulate their sick time depending on how many hours they work, and will not be able to use their sick time until they have been with their employer for 90 days.

Some have argued that this will be too expensive for Maine businesses. However, in the IWPR’s analysis of this issue it argues that providing this benefit to Maine workers will result in savings.

Businesses will save by having less turnover in employees and, therefore, less hiring and retraining costs. If ill workers are allowed, there would be less spread of illness to other workers and less absenteeism across the board for employers.

There is a societal savings predicted as well. The Muskie Institute studied emergency department use in Maine and found that our rate of costly ED use is 30 percent higher than the national average.

The report found spikes in use in the morning and evening; the hours surrounding the workday. Researchers also found that a substantial number of visits to the ED were not emergencies but, instead, would have been more appropriate for clinic or office settings.

When asked about use of the ED, half of the respondents reported that they used the ED because there was no availability of their primary care physician on nights and weekends and they did not want to miss work.

Another societal savings comes in the form of increased financial stability for our work force. Paid sick days may increase worker satisfaction and improve job retention and stability.

Because workers will not be missing a day’s pay when they are ill, they will be better able to pay their bills and contribute to the economy. Thus they will be less likely to depend on welfare services.

Others have argued that workers will abuse this benefit; that they will take advantage of it. Most workers already apparently have this benefit. Do they abuse it? In fact, the IWPR reports that half of all workers who currently receive paid sick days do not use them.

It doesn’t seem fair that only those who already are likely amongst the higher paid — with sick benefits — are allowed to get sick and not worry. Should getting the flu be a privilege of the financially stable?

As legislators consider this bill, I hope that they will think about our current financial instability, the high costs of social services and medical care and how this bill could be a small part of the remedy.

Kelly West works as a social worker and is currently pursuing her master’s in social work at the University of Maine. She lives in Norway with her family.