to help banks if needed. bond sidencern on the is whether corporations might go belly up. moment -- they cannot buy corporate bonds and a wider range of securities. it has been suggested that they have that power and ability. thankwe would like to heather long for coming in this morning to talk to us about the of these attacks coming from the trump organization. >> "washington journal" continues. host: we are back with elise gould, who is a senior economist at the economic policy institute. good morning. we are going to talk about paid sick leave.

let's define what paid sick leave is and is it already mandated in the united states? guest: it is not. it allows workers to take off time to care for themselves if they are sick to go to the doctor and often to go take care of their children and other dependents if they need to stay home from school when they are sick. sometimes the provisions would give employers the ability to accrue time off. get four to seven days of sick time off of work. there is no mandate in this country right now although we have legislation coming down to employers toquire allow workers to earn that sick

time. where one of two countries right now in the oecd that does not have that requirement. host: are there any states that mandate paid sick leave? are about a dozen states right now that have some paid sick leave provisions. we have some charts from the pew research center who went out and looked at page sick leave and saw that here are some statistics. 67% of u.s.y civilian workers had access to any sort of paid sick leave between 2010 and 2019 that jumped up to 76%. isseems like paid sick leave becoming a more common idea in the united states. the reason those rates

have gone up has been because of states continuously passing those legislation. workers are getting it. employers are providing it more often than not. we see about 73% of workers in the private sector now have paid sick leave. about a quarter don't. host: the house passed a big package on friday night to deal with the coronavirus. allowf that package would for two weeks of paid sick leave of paido three months family and medical leave. us exactly what the house is trying to do and how this would work for employees and exactly which employs this applies to. guest: the cdc recommends people stay home and maintain social

distance. we are trying to keep this pandemic from us exactly what te is trying to do and how this would work for employees and spreading around the country. many people cannot afford to stay home because they have not had those paid sick days. workers in the service sector who have a lot of human contact often times are the ones who don't get it. the house bill is trying to secure at least two weeks of leave. that is critical because the cdc says that is how long you must quarantine. that is how long you may be contagious. that is how the house bill works. host: does this apply to all employees were just employees at small businesses? what if you are a gig employee? most part, this will apply across the board to all workers.

what is interesting about the dynamic of paid sick days in the country already is even if you have some paid sick days, often you will not have enough that the cdc says you should be staying home if you are sick. sometimes you will have to stay home even longer. those weeks can add up really quickly. for many workers, this is how they are going to get it. , theree contract workers is access to a tax credit that they can also get access to some of that money because it is many of those small business workers that will be impacted who have not had paid sick leave in the first place. host: how does it work if you need this paid sick leave? do you call your local state agency how do you make sure that you are getting this time that you have earned this time that the government is saying that

you need? guest: that is a great question. even states that have had these mandates, sometimes they don't even know. it is getting the information out so workers know what they are eligible for. we don't know exactly how this is going to be implemented. there can be changes when this goes to the senate. it is important to get that information out there so people know that they haven't. employers are going to be offering that to them. let's let some of our viewers yet involved in this conversation. we are going to open up special lines of this conversation. if you make under $50,000 in this economy, we want to hear from you. you are probably working at one of those small businesses or gig

economy. what do you think about the idea of paid sick leave? if you make under $50,000, your number is (202) 748-8000. if you make between $50,000 and $100,000, we want to know what you think about the idea of paid sick leave. your number is going to be (202) 748-8001. $100,000, wever want to know what you think as well. your number is going to be (202) 748-8002. and we have a fourth line. this line is specifically for business owners. you are the ones that are going to have to figure out how this works. we want to hear from is this owners and what you think about this paid sick leave. your number is going to be (202) 748-8003.

response.so text your we are always reading on social media and on twitter. let's say you are out of work for two weeks or longer because you are sick. are you able to file for unemployment? guest: yes, the provisions that have been funded through the house bill allow for people to be able to get unemployment insurance under these extenuating circumstances that we are living in today. the department of labor has expanded what can qualify you for unemployment insurance. it could be that if you had to leave work to take care of yourself, usually it is when you get laid off. are going to be a lot of people that are affected by this, even if they do not get sick.

the service economy that we depend upon today in the united states, we have a lot of front-line workers in leisure and hospitality industry who are going to experience job loss and having their hours cut. we need to ensure that we have an adequate safety net to help all of those workers who have had their hours cut. cancel had people travel plans, not go out to restaurants. that has a ripple effect through the economy. all of those workers are going to see their hours cut. some of them are going to get laid off. they are going to need unemployment insurance to pay their bills and pay rent. what has been the reaction from the business community on this bill going through end of paid sick leave? is the business community for this? what are we seeing from

businesses? guest: there is a wide range. a lot of business owners are very concerned about what this is going to do to their business. they are already worried about what they can pay their workers. getting them help is essential to make sure that is passed on to their workers and that they stay afloat. lamar alexander talked about paid sick leave on the senate floor. [video clip] >> it is a good idea. washington, d.c. should pay for it. when i was governor, nothing made me more unhappy than washington passing a bill and sending me the bill. as employees are struggling, so our employers.

employers are struggling in the middle of this matter. paid sick leave is a good idea. the federal government now does it. many businesses now do it. if the federal government wants to require it, the federal government should pay for it. host: i want you to respond. guest: we want businesses to be able to provide paid sick leave. we have seen that across the country. there are 13 states that already require employers to do this. this is lifting the standards for the whole country in states that have not re: past this. it is important for workers. there will be a fair amount of that will make sure small employers are able to afford these benefits. this will have big ripple effects for the economy.

we want to make sure people can stay home when they are sick. host: the bill specifically targets this for the coronavirus epidemic. should this be permanent? guest: absolutely. ofs is something that most our nations across the world are doing. only one other oecd nation does not already have this. this is a basic labor standard for workers. we want workers to stay home when they are sick. we don't want them working in restaurants, working with our elderly. we know the elderly are so susceptible to this illness. it can be extremely damaging and even cause death. our low-wage workers who work on the front line and have a lot of contact with the public, it is important to have paid sick days in general. this is the impetus to cross us over that line. al, whot's start with

is calling from maryland. al is a business owner. good morning. caller: good morning. how is everyone? host: just fine. go ahead. caller: i am a small business owner. we sell products in a shopping mall. i spent yesterday looking at different things on the sba website. this is my only source of income. i have two employees. should i be dealing with the state or federal government in getting any kind of assistance? guest: right now it is important that the federal government steps up. state budgets are going to have a difficult time now. does, they will see a drop in sales tax revenue.

need for theirhe medicaid dollars stretched. we have to rely on the federal government to step in. i think what the federal government is doing that should be the higher standard we should be following. i think we will see exactly how that will roll out and the advice small businesses will be getting as to how to get that money. those details have not been ironed out yet. wait and see them follow the path of that legislation. it really looks like this is going to go through. there should be help for small business owners and also to stay afloat. host: let's talk to steve calling from ohio. what do you think about paid sick leave? my question is what about folks that are strictly on

social security only? guest: about folks that are strictly on social security, generally we are talking about elderly people that are retired. i have not seen any specific provisions that will help them. medicare,e on medicare should be covering the bill. medicare does allow for free testing of the coronavirus. information about where you can get that will be rolling out. that will be specific to your community or where you live. i have not seen any other specific stimulus targeted at that population. the paid sick days would not apply. i'm hoping after this first rollout, there will be additional legislation that will help put money in people's pockets immediately. obviously that legislation has

not been passed yet, but it is important that we put money in people's pockets and help them make and sumit during this time and make sure that people that stay home are able to stay home. elderly people are more susceptible to this illness. it is important that they get the health care that they need. that is part of this bill. let's talk to katrina. good morning. good morning. i work for the gig economy. that if weoposing are sick they are going to pay us for up to 14 days. is that something you guys are also offering? if you have to stay home longer than that, cannot be extended

through the federal government, or is that something that our company will have to propose? guest: it is a great question. that is somewhat unknown at this point. somebody who might be self-employed, they will have access to these tax credits. you are not getting paid sick days from your employer as it stands. not good worker, you are classified as an employee. we could do something to try to fix that in the long run. they are offering tax credits to help cover those people who may to not gety home and a paycheck because they cannot work. let's go to kimberly calling from new york. good morning. right?et that caller: you did. host: go ahead. caller: i have been a nurse for

about 25 years. i'm concerned about the decreased level of health services available in patient and outpatient. community specifically, we closed one hospital and severely decreased the number of inpatient beds available. i just think about the regular flu season. we sent patients to the hospital for hospitalization, and they thed be on the stretcher in emergency department for two or three days. i'm not sure that the health care industry is ready for a large influx of patients. great question. i think what this covid-19 pandemic is telling us is we do not have the infrastructure to deal with it in the ways that

would be sufficient. we need to take action to do that. low-wage workers don't have paid sick days. if they lose their job, they may be fired if they take that time off. we know the health system is going to get stretched. we have already seen this problem. there may not have been enough hospital beds. there may be long waits in communities where they do not have enough medical care. that was a problem before this, and that is a problem with the regular flu season. we need additional dollars to help with this. the reason it is so important and why the cdc is telling people to stay home is because we need to flatten that curve and make sure that we can cover people in those hospitals who need the help now and try to keep that spread from happening very quickly throughout the country. host: let's talk to chris,

calling from florida. chris is a business owner. what do you think about this basically? -- paid sick leave? caller: i have some questions. i am a business owner. elivergroceries.com. economy, thegig companies that outsourced anybody. we are a legitimate business that has employees. we have done this for over 12 years now. what has happened in the past is if there was an economic hurricanes in the offer bailouts, we are always

income,because of our our revenues. we can stay afloat, then we lose as opposed to the company's that have losses year-over-year. gig t as the individual hurricane we had a here, and they offered waitresses hooters were getting thousands of dollars because their tips were going down. we got absolutely nothing. situation,s entire they might be handing out checks, but to which a minute employers and employees, we will be back into that position where we don't receive any benefits at all even though we are going to take a hard direct hit because we do the deliveries to nursing homes, which they have just

blocked off in florida. host: you did not really get a question in there. i have another here on social media says if a company wants to offer paid sick leave, great. there should not be any government mandates forcing employers to provide paid sick leave. self-employed business owners don't get paid sick leave. we just get the bill. guest: a lot of small business owners are very concerned. they are struggling. all of those service jobs, you are going to see a lot of difficulty with them making ends meet and being able to make payroll. i think providing paid sick days is a minimal amount that we can expect from employers. i don't think it is a strict requirement. that before and

after they passed paid sick days, the cost of business was very small. the advantages are large. there is loss in productivity. they can spread disease to their coworkers and customers. it is important from a public health standpoint. the costs are very low for businesses that have had to deal with this mandate. it has not been onerous at all. it is a minimum standard we should be following in this country. bill will go to the senate next week do you expect any debate over that specific provision? guest: i think that is a pretty simple standard we are asking employers to provide. there may be conversations about

the other provisions. cdc one follows the recommendations. let's talk to bill from illinois. good morning. caller: good morning. question.ve as much a i would like to speak for a few seconds why this is a terrible idea. reduces no question, it the incentive for employers to hire people. it increases the burden of employment. many companies already sick leave.offer in an emergency, if one says your home because of a flulike

say under this emergency circumstance, that is fine. what if you are going in for a plant operation that has nothing coronavirushe epidemic? the main reason why this is a --rible idea is it increases it reduces the incentive for people to be hired. it is what has happened in europe. go ahead and respond. guest: there has been no evidence that these have had any impact on ointment. it can have an impact on increasing worker productivity,

giving -- having them be more loyal to their employer, increasing trust between the employer and employee. i think it adds to workers' economic stability -- security and good overall. host: let's hear from mississippi. tamika, good morning. caller: yes, what if you are a state employee like you work in a school system, and we used the accrual time -- use the accrual time every month, but now it is like we get paid once a month, and then we get seven for the year. then, if you use all of that time and you get coronavirus, then what do we do? i think that's a good question. i think that's why the house is

stepping up and trying to abide these 14 days so workers who don't have paid sick days may have used their paid sick days, didn't have sufficient numbers of aids days, that is why they need the 14 days to make sure people can take that time ought to take care of themselves and to not have that loss of income. not only are you maybe coming sick and could spread it to everyone else, which is why you need to take home, you need to take care of yourself, get the health care you need, but you also need to pay your rent, take care of your family members, and have that economic security. that is of the utmost importance. you need to be able to take care of everything in your life. host: i'm short here on screen, but pew provided a map of states leaveandate paid sick institute.w

what is going on at the state institute? i haven't seen any word yet that there are states taking action immediately. the state legislators are open and can be taking action. 13 states and d.c. have paid sick leave ledge restriction -- legislation on the books. states are already talking about this because this is a great opportunity for the federal government to step in, particularly for those not moving forward and has not moved forward. having a standard nationally is critical and should be what we do. host: let's take one more caller. we hear from mary calling from clarksville, tennessee. mary, good morning. caller: good morning. how is that going to work for unions? right now, my local union out of nashville is closed due to the

coronavirus until further notice. $2.75 inloyment is that state -- in the state of tennessee. that's not enough to pay for everything. guest: that's a great question. there are going to be layoffs in the economy to make sure people have enough money to be able to pay the rent. some states don't have a generous a system as others. we need to make that is shored up. the federal government is listing some of those rules so the unemployment insurance can apply to some workers affected by the coronavirus. we need money behind that to help in those states in particular and encourage those states to pass legislation that will make that more generous for them. host: the house bill has passed and we know lamar alexander -- we know what lamar alexander thinks about it.

what other senators in the senate should be -- should we be watching? guest: that's a great question but not when i have a great answer to. i am an expert on the economic issues, not the political issues, but i think we want to watch everyone and make sure they make the right decisions, make sure the bill gets through, and it is not the first thing we need to do -- it is the first thing we need to do but not the only thing. we need to make sure we get money in the hands of people who needed to have had these job losses and who have medical -- who need to have medical care and make sure we can continue to simulate the economy during this time. host: we would like to thank elise gould for bei "washington" continues. host: we are joined by elizabeth redden, a correspondent for inside higher ed, and we will talk about how coronavirus is affecting higher education. elizabeth, good morning. guest: good morning. host: