Americans overwhelmingly want paid sick time, even if it lowers their wages - The Washington Post:
More to the point, a 2010 survey of 1,461 Americans
conducted by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of
Chicago asked respondents how they felt about paid sick time, and then
presented them with a battery of arguments for and against such
legislation.
The "con" arguments included "If employers are
forced to increase costs by providing for paid sick days, they will cut
other costs by reducing wages or benefits like health care coverage" and
"A one-size-fits-all, paid sick leave mandate from the government would
threaten workers' wages and benefits. Government mandated benefits that
increase business costs would have to be made up by cuts in wages
or benefits."
But after hearing these arguments, respondents'
views on sick leave legislation were unchanged -- 75 percent supported
mandatory sick time before hearing the arguments, while 74 percent
supported it afterward. Even more telling, respondents rated the appeals
about lower wages among the least compelling of the con arguments.