I am very fortunate to have a job where I am allowed paid sick days. I know that if I get sick, especially with an infectious illness, I have the option of staying home – not only to get well, but to ensure that I do not spread the illness to others. I know I can take a day off to get well and not be penalized financially. This is only common sense.

But nearly 50 percent of full-time workers in Maine are not offered paid sick days at their jobs.

That is why I support the Campaign for Healthy Families, Healthy Workplaces, and the legislation it is advancing that would guarantee a basic standard of up to nine paid sick days for workers of businesses having 25 or more employees.

That legislation will ensure that more Maine people have the opportunity to take care of themselves and their families, while preventing the spread of infectious illnesses to other employees. That would also help businesses, because people who are sick tend to be less productive at work.

By providing paid sick days, employers would benefit from reduced turnover, higher productivity, and reducing the spread of contagious diseases in the workplace.

Paid sick days are a standard whose time has come.

Rachel Rodrigue, Lewiston