By Alan Johnson, The Columbus Dispatch, May 8, 2008

Supporters of a mandatory sick-day policy will begin gathering signatures today to place the issue on the November ballot after a futile 120-day wait for Ohio lawmakers to act.

The deadline for the General Assembly to approve the Ohio Healthy Families Act is the end of business today. The Ohio House held a single one-hour hearing on the proposal. Two other scheduled hearings were canceled, and nothing was approved by either legislative chamber.

The next step for the union-led coalition backing the issue is to gather 120,583 valid signatures of registered Ohio voters. If that happens and the signatures are verified by Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, the issue will be certified to appear on the Nov. 4 statewide ballot.

The proposal would require all businesses with 25 or more employees to provide full-time workers with at least seven paid sick days annually. Part-time workers would receive a proportional amount.

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