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Republicans love paid sick leave—for themselves




The Republican Party is firmly against paid sick leave for workers, making the
United States the only advanced economy that does not require it.

But two Republicans—Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and Rep. Thomas Kean Jr.
of New Jersey—have recently receivedmonths of paid sick leave, even though they
have a track record of voting against it for U.S. workers.

McConnell has been absent from work since June 14, which means that, as of
Tuesday, he’ll have been gone for an entire month. He has already pocketed
$14,500 of his $174,000 annual congressional salary—which will continue to grow
as his return date remains unclear—all while not showing up to vote.

Meanwhile, Kean was gone for much longer, missing every House vote from March
5 through June 30. That’s a 117-day absence, which would amount to roughly
$43,500 of paid leave.

And while they pocketed that taxpayer-funded paid leave, both McConnell and
Kean have voted to screw average workers out of the same benefit.

McConnell has not only voted against paid sick leave but sick leave
altogether. He was one of 27 senators who voted against the landmark Family and
Medical Leave Act of 1993, which requires companies to give workers 12 weeks of
unpaid leave after the birth or adoption of a child, to recover from an
illness, or to care for an immediate family member with a serious health
condition.

Meanwhile, when Kean served in New Jersey’s state Senate, he voted against
landmark legislation that requires businesses to give workers paid sick leave.

Even more galling is that both McConnell and Kean refused to explain why they
weren’t on the job until they were publicly called out for their lengthy
absences.





 

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Kean returned from his nearly four-month absence in June to say that he had
been receiving inpatient mental health treatment. And McConnell finally shared
proof of life on July 12 with a photo of himself recovering in the hospital,
saying that he suffered yet another fall and contracted pneumonia.

McConnell’s condition was unknown since he was taken to the hospital by
ambulance on June 14. And his staff’s refusal to provide any updates led to
rampant conspiracy theories that McConnell was incapacitated and unlikely to
return to Congress.

In a lengthy statement on Sunday, McConnell said that he had avoided sharing
an update because “folks of my generation often hesitate to share the
vulnerability that comes with growing older,” but he conceded that the public
had a right to know.

But he said that he still doesn’t know when he’ll return to Congress—meaning
that Kentuckians will go even longer without a voting senator.

“As much as it frustrates me, this process takes time. And on the advice of my
doctors, I won’t be able to return to the Senate floor to vote quite yet,”
McConnell wrote.

It’s interesting that he thinks that he deserves to take sick leave but
everyone else does not.

Probably sensing the shameless hypocrisy, McConnell insisted that he’s still
working.

“Rest assured that, in the meantime, I’m not taking a break from the Senate
business that matters to you,” he wrote. “I’ve been working closely with my
legislative staff on current issues, and with my Kentucky team who help me
provide timely constituent services across our Commonwealth. I’ve also been
keeping in touch with my Senate colleagues on the appropriations process,
midterm politics, and everything in between.”

But there’s one important thing that he still can’t do: cast votes. As a
Democrat, I’m fine with that. But his absence is already proving to be a
headache for the GOP.

Oh, well.



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