Currently there are no federal standards that require that sick leave be provided to food service workers. There are several studies that have researched the ramifications of this lack of policy and essentially it results in most food service workers at all levels of the supply chain regularly coming to work ill because they cannot afford to take the time off. Food service, from field to restaurant makes up some of the lowest paid industries in our economy. This fact compounds the issue profoundly.
This is fundamentally a public health issue. We had a profound flu season this year, and as health care is among one of our largest federal expenses this would help on many different fronts.
Pass legislation that guarantees a basic sick bank to all food workers who handle food for sale.