H.C.R. No. 178 Summary

• Urges state and private health care networks to allow sick employees to take time off for illness without fear of retaliation or retribution.

• Calls for health care networks to review their attendance policies in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, which had reached over 75 nations with more than 92,800 confirmed cases and 3,200 deaths as of March 4, 2020.

• Identifies punitive attendance policies that penalize workers for two absences within one month or two instances of tardiness within 14 days, potentially resulting in corrective action, denial of time off requests, and impacts to transfers, scheduling, promotions, and employment status.

• Notes that such policies force sick health care workers to continue working with critically ill patients, negatively impacting both worker and patient care quality.

• Directs copies of the resolution to be sent to the Governor, President of the Senate, Speaker of the House of Representatives, and heads of all state and private health care networks.