I have a huge problem with sick kids going to school.  Like you, I'm not talking about the kid who can do a year of perfect attendance.  And, so long as the child is healthy, even the long term perfect attendance thing is fine.  But, something has changed in the last ten years or so.  People, not wanting to take time off work (or not being able to) are sending kids to school who are clearly sick.  Not just a little ill or whatever.  I mean hacking cough, fever, chills, blue lips sick.  I've heard of kids going to school and sleeping at their desks because the school nurse tried contacting a parent and they refused to come get their feverish kid.  The teacher had to take the child back to class. 

Sending sick kids to school is disrespectful.  It's disrespectul to the child and his/her classmates.  When did it become okay for other parents to decide just how sick MY child gets during the school year ("Oh.  It's just a little cold.  It's not a big deal.")? 

I also think those who are truely sick should stay home. For one thing, it will help them get better faster. And, as already pointed out, it won't pass all the germs on to everyone else. Problem with starting this as kids is they get into this bad habit and become the Typhoid Mary of the office as adults. People like these are why I have a bag of vitamin C drops and a bottle of hand sanitizer in my desk drawer at work.

 You're right, Shwaine, the boneheads that go to work sick--hacking all over the room--and then wearing their public illness like a badge of honor, really irk me.  And what irks  me even more are the snide remarks, especially from the boss, when someone does stay home because they're sick.  We've all heard 'em, "I came to work when I was throwing up, feverish, and with the worst sinus infection I've ever had.  I could barely make it off of the toilet to get to work!!"  Someone please tell me how to respond to those idiots?  And while we're on the subject of being sick--I certainly hope the bill is passed that all businesses of (10?) or more employees has to offer sick leave to their employees.  Not to offer sick leave is down right barbaric.

Yeah, I've had those kinds of bosses - "Joe was jumped by gang members last week; they cut off his arms, his legs, and his head, and he still came in to work the next day!"

What quality of work could someone who should be on a toilet perform? Merely being present is just that; it means nothing unless that person has the ability to be productive. My bosses don't act like that, thank goodness.

>>And while we're on the subject of being sick--I certainly hope the bill is passed that all businesses of (10?) or more employees has to offer sick leave to their employees.  Not to offer sick leave is down right barbaric.

Ipedalon-I hope this bill passes, too.  And, being a part-time worker, I hope this bill makes companies give sick leave to ALL workers, not just full-timers.  It is unfair (and borderline discriminatory if you ask me) to only offer sick leave to full-time workers.  My employer only offers sick leave to full-time workers and it pretty well pisses me off.  When I call in sick, I do so at the expense of a day's pay.  So that is why I hope this bill passes.

Also, I don't think kids should go to school sick.  What good does it do?  I missed several weeks of school because of illness (sometimes a week or more).  The parents can find a way to get the student's work so the student can complete it at home while sick and not fall so far behind.

In this Information Age, a well-designed office network can be set up to let the worker still work from home. It costs a little money for the security software and infrastructure, but a sick worker could be more productive at home in bed with a laptop than hacking all over the office. If you consider the fallout from the sick worker infecting other workers, it's a wonder more bosses don't practice the "go home" approach to ill workers. It reduces office productivity overall if all your workers get ill in the same time frame and it can drive up health insurance costs, particularly if an employee or two gets seriously ill as a result. Unfortunately, too many bosses seem to fall into the "trooper" mentality everyone has already mentioned rather than realize the financial fallout of sick workers in the office. I've even had a boss in the past that bemoaned me taking a Thurs/Fri off to have abdominal surgery.... you'd think wanting 2 days and the weekend to recover after having your gut cut into would be self-explanatory.

For more information on the paid sick leave bill, read this Sacramento Bee story.

Under AB 2716, businesses of 10 employees or more would be required to provide up to nine days of sick leave per year. Smaller firms would provide up to five days.

The California Labor Federation and California Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now were sponsors of the bill.

Full-time and part-time workers would earn one hour of sick leave for every 30 hours worked. The benefit could be used after 90 days of employment.

If signed into law, the requirement would be overseen by the Department of Industrial Relations, whose costs would be about $600,000 annually, according to the Assembly Appropriations Committee. The measure also could be enforced through civil lawsuits.