By Michael McIntee, The Uptake 

As Minneapolis wrestles with requiring businesses to give employees paid sick time, a small business owner in St. Paul is pressing ahead to do that without a government directive because she believes it is the right thing to do.

Fusion Salon owner Diane Brennan says she plans to implement an earned sick and time off program for her seven employees by January 1, 2016. That’s notable because 50% of employees who work at companies with fewer than 100 employees don’t get paid time off when they’re sick. The Bureau of Labor Statistics doesn’t keep separate statistics for businesses as small as Brennan’s, but in general the smaller the business, the smaller the odds of getting paid sick time. Brennan says at small salons such as hers, there are historically no benefits.

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