DENVER - Members of the Campaign for a Healthy Denver gathered on Wednesday to talk about workers who feel that cannot afford not going into work when they are sick.
The coalition of community groups also talked about experiences with contagion through sick workers at restaurants and health facilities.
"They have no choice but to come to work sick, or send their children home sick, or leave their children home alone because they must cover the basic cost of food and housing," one worker said. "As a person with an impaired immune system and mother of young children, you can only imagine what happens when one of my workers is forced to come into my home with a bad cold. I am at risk for developing a more serious condition if I am exposed."
One home health nurse explained the difficulty weighing whether to not go to work when they have the flu. The nurse says if they stay home and try to recover and protect their vulnerable patients, they do not get paid since they do not have paid sick days. But, if they go to work sick, they run the risk of infecting their patients.
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