Microsoft navigates an approach to paid sick leave
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Microsoft contractors and vendors will be required to provide 15 days of paid leave annually for employees who do work for the corporation, it was announced Thursday.
Employees who get paid time off tend to be happier than those who don’t, Bradford L. Smith, Microsoft’s general counsel, told the New York Times.
Also, contractors who worked alongside Microsoft employees often complained. According to the article, Microsoft contractors with 50 or more employees will be required to give employees 10 paid vacation days and five sick days, or 15 days of unrestricted time off.
The announcement follows President Obama’s support of The Healthy Families Act, which if passed would give workers seven days of paid sick leave. Given the country’s current political climate, the article notes, it’s hard to imagine the bill passing. However technology companies such as Microsoft, Apple and Google are starting to make changes. The article notes that Google and Apple recently hired security guards as full-time employees, rather than using contract workers.
According to Working Partnerships USA, an advocacy group, 88 percent of computer jobs in Silicon Valley provide paid sick days. Comparatively, 41 percent of building and grounds-cleaning positions have paid sick days.
“When you follow the money, the money comes from tech companies, so ultimately they could raise the floor for our contract work force,” Derecka Mehrens, executive director of Working Partnerships USA, told the Upshot.
