|
(Minneapolis) - A vote by the Minnesota House of Representatives on
April 7th to forbid State workers from using sick and bereavement leave to
care for household members, or attend their funerals, drew harsh
criticism from OutFront Minnesota, the state's leading organization serving the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and
transgender (GLBT) community and its allies.
"To deprive State workers from using the sick and bereavement leave that
the State provides them to deal with such household crises as illness or
death is nothing less than gratuitous cruelty aimed directly at
employees who are in same-sex relationships," declared Ann M. DeGroot,
Executive Director of OutFront Minnesota. "It is inconceivable that any
articulable public policy requires interfering with State workers'
simple ability to attend a partner's funeral."
By voice vote, the House rejected an amendment offered by Rep. Karen
Clark (DFL - Minneapolis), the only openly-GLBT member of the Minnesota
House, that would have required that collective bargaining agreements
with State employees that provide paid sick leave permit workers to use
reasonable amounts of that time to care for sick household members or
attend their funerals.
"The fact that the House of Representatives would display such callous
disregard for families of the State's own employees is something that
should shock any fair-minded Minnesotan," said OutFront Minnesota Public
Policy Director Monica Meyer. "Surveys show that Americans across the
board strongly support equal employment benefit policies for employees
with spouses and employees with domestic partners. This vote by the
House, rejecting a proposal that can be characterized as simply being
humane, is profoundly out of step with the culture." Meyer emphasized
that the proposal would have applied only to sick leave that the State
was already providing its workers, and would have cost nothing.
"Every State worker should be able to provide for their family, and to
know that they can care for a sick partner or attend their funeral
without fear of negative consequences at work," Meyer said. "Few people
would reasonably consider attending a partner's funeral to be a
'vacation day.'"
Contact:
Monica Meyer, Public Policy Director
(612) 822-0127, ext. 115
Ann M. DeGroot, Executive Director
(612) 822-0127, ext. 107
|
