Like millions of Americans this winter , my toddler has the flu . The good news is that , unlike most of our nation 's restaurant workers , my baby does n't have to go to work sick . The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is reporting widespread flu in 47 states . During the 2009 swine flu outbreak , the Obama administration told people to stay home when they were sick . That 's why it 's important we understand that , according to research conducted by my organization , Restaurant Opportunities Centers United , almost 90 % of restaurant workers say they do not have access to paid sick leave . Plus , given that the federal minimum wage for tipped workers has been stuck at just $ 2.13 an hour since 1991 , two-thirds of our nation 's cooks and servers and bussers report they can not afford to stay home when they 're sick , because they wo n't get paid and might even lose their jobs . A 2011 study by the CDC found that 12 % of almost 500 food service workers surveyed had experienced vomiting and diarrhea on two or more shifts in the previous year . What 's more disgusting than that ? That restaurant owners essentially force employees to come to work sick because they do n't have paid sick days . This month , 1.2 million people in England suffered from norovirus , also known as the `` winter vomiting bug . '' Norovirus is commonly contracted through contaminated food . In 2009 , a bartender with swine flu worked for several days at a Washington hot spot because , he told me , he could n't afford to not go to work . If we do n't pay food industry workers decent wages and ensure they receive paid sick days , then no matter how much the FDA regulates the boiling temperature for processing cheese , restaurant workers will keep sneezing on our dinner and food-borne contamination and illness will continue to be a problem . The health of our nation 's 10 million food service workers is intimately tied to the health of millions of Americans who routinely eat food prepared by someone else . One in six Americans gets sick from a food-borne illness every year , and when those instances can be traced to a single cause , in more than half of cases it 's a restaurant . Specifically , research shows that somewhere between 48 % to 93 % of all food-borne norovirus outbreaks may be tracked back to sick food service workers . The federal Healthy Families Act , expected to be re-introduced this year , would require all businesses with 15 or more employees to provide up to seven days of paid sick leave each year . San Francisco , Seattle , the District of Columbia and the state of Connecticut have already approved such legislation locally . If we pay restaurant workers a living wage and ensure they can stay home when they 're sick , that means fewer taxpayer dollars on public health emergencies and fewer stomach aches for diners as well . When we get the flu , we just want to stay in bed and have someone care for us . We should allow restaurant workers the ability to do that , too . America would be a healthier place for it .
Saru Jayaraman : Restaurant workers , who rarely have paid sick leave , can spread flu . The government has been trying to get rid of the practice for years Jayaraman : Congress should pass Healthy Families Act , which would legislate sick leave .