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If you've ever seen your waiter sneeze, you may have asked for a different server. If you've seen one sneeze repeatedly, you might wonder why he's still at work, serving tainted food.

See, most restaurant workers don't get paid when they stay home sick. But, some go to work anyway, when they've got the sniffles or worse, because they need the paycheck.

For labor advocates, that's a problem.

"The fact that we're forcing people to go to work sick is not something we want to do as a society," says Maryland state Rep. John Olszewski Jr., a Democrat. "We shouldn't put people in a situation where they're forced to make impossible choices between themselves and their work and their families."

Last month, New York City began requiring employers to provide paid sick days, joining the ranks of other cities such as Washington, Seattle and San Francisco.

But while several cities have been willing to impose such requirements, states have been more reluctant. Olzewski's bill attracted a majority of his fellow state House members as co-sponsors, but went nowhere this year.

Instead, a number of states — particularly in the South — have passed laws that block local governments from imposing sick day requirements on businesses.

"The problem I see with paid sick leave is not so much offering it, but the fact that it's mandated," says state Rep. Gail Lavielle, a Connecticut Republican. "It seems as though the state is determined to do everything it can to discourage businesses from coming here and staying here."

Not Available To All

The more money you make, the more likely it is that you can stay home when you're sick and still get paid.

A big majority — 87 percent — enjoy that benefit among the top 25 percent of earners. Only 34 percent of those in the bottom 25 percent have the same privilege, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Part-time workers are usually out of luck.

"Servers in restaurants and home health workers are the least likely to have paid sick time and the most likely to have contact with the public," says Vicki Shabo, vice president of the National Partnership for Women & Families.

A number of women's organizations have embraced the cause of providing paid sick leave. House Democrats tout the idea as part of their "economic agenda for women and families."

"It is not only good for workers, but also for businesses who have lower retention costs and greater productivity, as well as the broader economy," says Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), who has sponsored federal legislation mandating paid sick leave.

Swapping Shifts

With Congress unlikely to address the issue, the action is in the states.

In 2011, Connecticut became the first state to mandate paid sick leave. A survey of Connecticut employers released earlier this year by the Center for Economic and Policy Research and the City University of New York suggests that the cost for businesses has been minimal.

"A year and a half after its implementation, more than three-quarters of surveyed employees expressed support for the earned paid sick leave law," the study concludes.

"That's probably the opposite of what we're hearing," says Nicole Griffin, executive director of the Connecticut Restaurant Association. "When the paid sick leave bill passed in Connecticut, employers felt it was yet another burden we'd have to deal with."

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