Sick day on the job

Local food workers talk about the challenges of taking time off … especially during holidays.

In an industry where the health of workers can have far-reaching consequences, a survey released in October reveals that 51 percent of food workers “always” or “frequently” attend work while sick, and an additional 38 percent “sometimes” go to work ill.

The study, conducted by Texas-based Alchemy Systems, spanned the food supply chain from food growers to servers. In a town like Mammoth Lakes, where the service industry depends on high-stakes periods of intense activity—like the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays—workers are caught in a culture of do-or-die performance.

“There is no choice, you go to work when you’re sick in Mammoth and that’s the way it is,” said one food service worker who requested anonymity.

“That’s why most of Mammoth gets sick, because most people have to go to work sick or you get fired,” he said.

Food service employees face enormous pressure from both management and fellow employees to show up for shifts, particularly during busy periods when some employees are working multiple jobs and juggling schedules. “When somebody calls in sick, that person basically becomes a pariah. Like, you better be in the hospital if you’re calling in sick during the holidays,” said another anonymous food service worker.

Couple this cultural pressure with the financial repercussions of missing out on a day of work and the food service industry becomes an ideal vector for passing along illness.

Norovirus, a highly-contagious disease that can cause diarrhea and vomiting, is the primary cause of disease outbreaks in the food service industry, and infected workers are responsible for about seventy percent of outbreaks in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The CDC recommends that restaurants “foster a work environment that encourages workers to stay home when sick, by considering such measures such as paid sick leave and a staffing plan that includes on-call workers.”

However, only four states in the U.S. have laws that require paid sick leave for employees—California, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Oregon. California’s law took effect this July, when Governor Jerry Brown signed Assembly Bill 304, amending the Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act to provide workers with minimal mandatory sick leave. The act now states that any person that “works in California for 30 or more days within a year from the beginning of employment is entitled to paid sick leave.” Sick leave accumulates at one hour for every thirty hours worked, and employees may begin taking advantage of their sick leave after 90 days of employment.

The act also states that “retaliation or discrimination against an employee who requests paid sick days or uses paid sick days or both is prohibited.”

However, in practice, this provision is difficult to enforce.

“I think it’s probably true with a lot of retail jobs, jobs in general that you have your shift that you’re supposed to work and you may not get another shift if you’re calling in sick…” said Louis Molina, Mono County Environmental Health Director. “I know there’s probably pressure to come to work when you’re not feeling well, but when you’re handling food there’s another level of concern with regard to passing along your illness to the customer you’re serving.”

“It’s a good law,” said Marvin Moskowitz, Environmental Health Director for Inyo County, “but it’s somewhat hard to enforce for the food managers especially when people don’t have sick leave. They need the money. They’re not gonna go tell the boss ‘I’ve got this infectious disease.’ Usually they’ll try to work through the whole thing.”

Workers also face tremendous opposition from the food service industry’s big players—the National Restaurant Association strongly opposes paid sick leave for workers. The Association did not respond to a request for comment from The Sheet.

As Mammoth’s restaurant workers gear up for a busy holiday season, many agree that paid sick days would not keep them out of the workplace—some employees are not even aware that they are eligible, and others haven’t worked long enough in their current jobs to take advantage of the new law. Furthermore, “fine, you get paid $9.00 an hour to stay home, but that’s not going to cover the tips you lost or make up for letting down your friends,” said a server who wished to remain unnamed.

“From an environmental health standpoint I think [paid sick leave is] a good thing, and it certainly could minimize the occurrences of people coming to work sick, but I think there’s still the pressure of calling in to work whether you’re getting paid or not,” said Molina. “People think that might put a black spot with the management…there’s some competition between shifts. The guy who calls in sick may not get the next shift and I think that’s just a sad fact of the industry unfortunately.”