Republican Leader Criticizes “Permanent Paid Sick Leave” in Dems’ Coronavirus Bill

Kevin McCarthy vows to oppose epidemic relief package.

Evan Vucci/AP

The coronavirus is a rapidly developing news story, so some of the content in this article might be out of date. Check out our most recent coverage of the coronavirus crisis, and subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily newsletter.

Late on Wednesday night, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) unveiled emergency coronavirus funding legislation, which would guarantee widespread free testing for COVID-19, expanded food assistance and unemployment insurance, and paid sick leave. But on Thursday morning, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) announced his opposition to the bill, singling out the paid sick leave provisions as one of the GOP’s chief concerns.

At a Thursday morning press conference, McCarthy outlined a “couple major problems” that he has with the bill, but he seemed to object most strenuously to the sick leave measures, which would guarantee paid sick time for all employees, including contractors and gig economy workers. McCarthy’s concerns were partly technical in nature—he argued that the program, as outlined in the legislation, would be difficult to implement. But he also took aim at the very idea of requiring businesses to provide paid sick leave after the coronavirus emergency has passed. The Democratic bill, he complained, “forces permanent paid sick leave for all business without exemptions and no sunsets.”

Under the bill Pelosi introduced on Wednesday, federal workers with COVID-19, or caring for family members with the virus, would be guaranteed to receive two-thirds of their wages for up to three months—a temporary benefit which would expire in January of 2021. But the bill also establishes a permanent paid sick leave requirement for private businesses, allowing workers to accrue at least seven days of paid sick leave, with an additional 14 days available if there’s a public health emergency, such as the current coronavirus pandemic. According to Roll Call, “businesses with 50 or fewer workers would be reimbursed for the cost of emergency sick leave.”

Paid sick leave has long been a top priority for progressive lawmakers. Now, because of the coronavirus pandemic, it has quickly gained momentum in Washington, DC. But McCarthy’s comments on Thursday indicate that it’s one of the main reasons GOP lawmakers and the Trump administration will fight Pelosi’s bill. McCarthy said that he spoke with officials at the White House, who said that they are also opposed to the House legislation. “We should not just take a rush because there’s a bill,” McCarthy said, adding that he thinks the GOP can strike a bipartisan deal with House Democrats in “24-to-48 hours.”

The Washington Post reported earlier this week that the White House had received calls from energy industry allies “privately warning against the administration supporting any sweeping paid sick leave policy.”

Despite the concerns from the GOP and the White House, Pelosi said the House will still vote on the package on Thursday.

AN IMPORTANT UPDATE

We’re falling behind our online fundraising goals and we can’t sustain coming up short on donations month after month. Perhaps you’ve heard? It is impossibly hard in the news business right now, with layoffs intensifying and fancy new startups and funding going kaput.

The crisis facing journalism and democracy isn’t going away anytime soon. And neither is Mother Jones, our readers, or our unique way of doing in-depth reporting that exists to bring about change.

Which is exactly why, despite the challenges we face, we just took a big gulp and joined forces with the Center for Investigative Reporting, a team of ace journalists who create the amazing podcast and public radio show Reveal.

If you can part with even just a few bucks, please help us pick up the pace of donations. We simply can’t afford to keep falling behind on our fundraising targets month after month.

Editor-in-Chief Clara Jeffery said it well to our team recently, and that team 100 percent includes readers like you who make it all possible: “This is a year to prove that we can pull off this merger, grow our audiences and impact, attract more funding and keep growing. More broadly, it’s a year when the very future of both journalism and democracy is on the line. We have to go for every important story, every reader/listener/viewer, and leave it all on the field. I’m very proud of all the hard work that’s gotten us to this moment, and confident that we can meet it.”

Let’s do this. If you can right now, please support Mother Jones and investigative journalism with an urgently needed donation today.

payment methods

AN IMPORTANT UPDATE

We’re falling behind our online fundraising goals and we can’t sustain coming up short on donations month after month. Perhaps you’ve heard? It is impossibly hard in the news business right now, with layoffs intensifying and fancy new startups and funding going kaput.

The crisis facing journalism and democracy isn’t going away anytime soon. And neither is Mother Jones, our readers, or our unique way of doing in-depth reporting that exists to bring about change.

Which is exactly why, despite the challenges we face, we just took a big gulp and joined forces with the Center for Investigative Reporting, a team of ace journalists who create the amazing podcast and public radio show Reveal.

If you can part with even just a few bucks, please help us pick up the pace of donations. We simply can’t afford to keep falling behind on our fundraising targets month after month.

Editor-in-Chief Clara Jeffery said it well to our team recently, and that team 100 percent includes readers like you who make it all possible: “This is a year to prove that we can pull off this merger, grow our audiences and impact, attract more funding and keep growing. More broadly, it’s a year when the very future of both journalism and democracy is on the line. We have to go for every important story, every reader/listener/viewer, and leave it all on the field. I’m very proud of all the hard work that’s gotten us to this moment, and confident that we can meet it.”

Let’s do this. If you can right now, please support Mother Jones and investigative journalism with an urgently needed donation today.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate