Coughing Cooks Stay Home as U.S. Cities Require Paid Sick Leave

When Michael Cockrell, a cook and dishwasher in Philadelphia, was sick with the flu, he showed up for work anyway. When his 5-year-old son was hospitalized with an asthma attack, Cockrell still punched the clock.

“If I wasn’t fearful of being terminated, I wouldn’t have gone to work either of those times,” said Cockrell, 30. “You can cover your mouth, but those germs are microscopic. You don’t know where they’re going and what food they’re landing on.”