The Portland City Council approved unanimously a measure today to allow employees to earn paid sick time off. 

Have reservations for a romantic dinner this Valentine’s Day? You are not alone. Valentine’s Day is the highest-grossing day for the $600 billion restaurant industry. This year, when you eat out on Valentine’s Day, you can share the love with the folks who will be feeding and serving you—and you can tell the world about it.

As part of MomsRising's Blog Carnival on the anniversary of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), Carol Joyner, national policy director for the Labor Project for Working Families, wrote that FMLA is only the first step in strengthening and protecting working families. She argues that paid sick leave is an important goal that we should pursue.

Public figures, working families and community allies are sharing their thoughts today about the benefits of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) on its 20th anniversary and the need for paid sick leave. Check out some highlights from the MomsRising blogger carnival by AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Elizabeth Shuler, Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), President Bill Clinton and several labor leaders:

Today, let’s celebrate 20 years of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Since 1993, the FMLA has been used more than 100 million times, helping 35 million people keep their jobs and health insurance while caring for a family health crisis or a new baby. That’s truly something to celebrate.

But this groundbreaking law didn’t just pop into our lives in 1993. A committed community of activists—women’s groups, union members, faith allies, family advocates and more—worked together for nine years to win it.

Activists rallied in front of the Beacon Street Dunkin' Donuts in Boston to build support for a bill in the state legislature that would require employers to give earned sick leave hours to their employees. The bill is sponsored by state Sen. Dan Wolf and state Rep. Kay Khan and would ensure that workers get one hour of sick time for each 30 hours they work, up to a maximum of at least 40 hours a year, depending on the size of the company (smaller companies have some exemptions).

Chances are everyone around you is sick. Not a pleasant thought, but recent reports show the flu season is one of the worst we've seen in a decade. Check out this Google map to see your risk factors for catching the flu in your state. 

The city of Portland, Ore., is planning to discuss a proposal by the Everybody Benefits community coalition that would require businesses to provide paid sick leave to their employees. The coalition is made up of labor, community and business groups and is seeking to follow in the footsteps of San Francisco and other cities that have successfully passed similar ordinances.

Next time you’re sitting down at your favorite restaurant, you may be getting an unordered side of germs with that cheeseburger or maybe unexpected exposure to the latest flu virus with that healthy garden salad. Why? Because, as this new video from the Restaurant Opportunities Centers (ROC) United illustrates, 90% of all restaurant workers have no paid sick days.

A three-judge panel in Orange County, Fla., yesterday ruled a paid sick leave initiative that garnered more than 50,000 signatures should be on the November ballot. But today is the deadline for printing ballots and the county’s mayor and the County Commission refused to put the measure before the voters.