CVS and Walgreens just cut down paid sick leave for workers

Vicki Shabo was quoted in Fortune about companies rolling back their paid sick time policies for COVID quarantine and recovery:

Walgreens will be providing COVID sick leave pay benefits for five days to both vaccinated and unvaccinated team members through Feb. 23. After that, Walgreens will only provide COVID pay benefits to employees who are fully vaccinated or have an otherwise approved medical or religious exemption.

The latest cuts to paid sick leave policies are a reminder that the U.S. does not have a federal paid time off standard. “It’s unconscionable and a real risk to health within workplaces, as well as the health for the consumers that shop in these stores,” says Vicki Shabo, a senior fellow focusing on paid leave policy at the progressive think tank New America.