The CSU Employees Union sent an email out to Fresno State students providing them with information on the paid sick leave topic. They included a hyperlink to a petition they have created to ensure paid sick leave for student employees. You can access the petition here.
Student assistants should be given paid sick leave. Students who get sick and need rest should not have to juggle between hours of schooling and work.
In California, employers are required to provide paid sick leave to their employees. The California State University (CSU) management system, however, is refusing to honor this right to student assistants, according to the CSU Employee Union.
The CSU is exempting student assistants since their view on student assistants is more so as “students” than traditional employees.
“It would be a nice benefit to have as a student assistant,” said Rhyen Aderhold, a student assistant with circulation at the Fresno State Library. “This semester, I’m already super busy. I cannot afford to not make it to work.”
This change for student employees benefits the public health of the student body and school faculty, as the campus is less exposed to people with sicknesses handling our food and operations.
Paid sick leave will incentivize student assistants to prioritize their health over working hours. Evidence has shown that paid sick leave discourages working while sick and discourages spreading sickness.
“Population-level influenza-like disease rates decrease after workers gain access to PSL following a city or state mandate adoption, suggesting PSL mandates have positive spillover effects by preventing disease spread,” according to a Health Economics article by Martin Anderson.
Not giving student assistants paid sick leave will jeopardize the public health of the school community. Fresno State students express their discomfort interacting with sick students on campus. 
“As a student myself, I don’t want to sit next to anyone who’s also sick,” said Branden Gonzalez, an employee for the Kennel Marketplace. “I can’t afford to get sick.”
The CSU Employees Union is planning to launch a campaign demanding that the CSU system grant paid sick leave to student assistants.
Paid sick leave should be an option for student assistants. It allows student assistants the ability to rest at their most vulnerable state and will incentivize a safer environment for the school community.
