The legislation follows an internal conference call Monday on which McDonald's executives said the fast-food chain has been lobbying lawmakers and the Trump administration to fight more robust paid sick leave plans. According to Business Insider, David Tovar, McDonald's vice president of communications in the United States, said the company was "pulling out all the stops to work with" the National Franchisee Leadership Alliance, "owner-operators, our trade partners, our friends in Congress, congressional leaders, and anyone who can make a difference to fix the bill."

Somehow, McDonald’s leadership still managed to claim the company supports the legislation. "To be clear, McDonald's supports the bill that would provide sick leave support to employees impacted by Coronavirus, and in fact, McDonald's and many of its franchise owners have already committed to offer those same benefits to potentially diagnosed employees," an unidentified McDonald’s representative told Business Insider. "At the same time, we are sensitive to the economic pressures independent owner-operators face and are supportive of efforts to ensure they have the cash flow needed to keep their employees working." I’m hearing monetary priorities, concerns about the financial well-being of restaurant owners, and a desire to pass the buck of paid sick leave off to franchise owners, but nowhere in that statement is any concern for the actual well-being of employees like Marion.

"A sick day for me is lost wages," the worker said. "I literally have to be damn near on my death bed to take a full-blown sick day. A missed check is the difference between me having a roof over me and my family's head versus us being homeless." Marion said she is one of the 20 percent of food service workers who go to work even exhibiting symptoms of vomiting or diarrhea. "Last week, I was under the weather," she said. "I was sick to the point where I had to leave the grill to go to the restroom, and I wound up vomiting."

She had no promise of paid leave to ensure she could return home without worrying about her pay being affected, but McDonald’s representatives said in a news release March 9th it would provide that assurance to corporate-owned restaurants. The company promised two weeks of paid leave for employees impacted at those locations, which Marion said only make up 5% of McDonald’s restaurants. “Companies can change this,” Marion said. “Since this coronavirus pandemic, Olive Garden has given their employees paid sick leave not just during this time, but for good. So we know that McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's, Subway, they can all do it as well, but they just have chosen not to."

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