Theraflu: "Right to Rest & Recover" initiative.

 

It’s not easy to be sick in America.

It’s even tougher to be sick in certain parts of America. Some 28 million workers in 35 states don’t have access to paid sick leave. Changing that difficult situation is the focus of the Right to Rest & Recover initiative from Theraflu, which is now in its third year.

The Right to Rest & Recover campaign launched in late 2021 with a spoken word poem, “Some Heroes,” by actor and poet Suzen Baraka. Grounded in her own lived experiences, the poem was intended to be uplifting while also shining a light on the realities of workers who have no choice but to go to work sick.

Last year, the stories of individual workers were featured. This year, the campaign is prioritizing legislative and policy changes.

The tagline of the campaign, “We’re sick of working sick,” reflects a reality uncovered in a recent survey conducted by Wakefield Research and sponsored by Theraflu. Nearly 70% of employed Americans reported that they had gone to work sick rather than take a day off in the last 12 months. The survey also found that half of workers do not know if they are legally entitled to sick leave.

The campaign also established a partnership with A Better Balance, a national legal advocacy organization dedicated to advancing work-family justice and helping workers in America understand their rights, hopes to address that lack of awareness.

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