We already know that 750,000 hardworking Marylanders do not have the ability to take time off when they are sick. We heard from families across the state facing impossible choices, like whether to send a sick child to school or daycare or risk losing wages, or worse, their jobs. We know that without earned paid sick days, families are more likely to go to work sick and delay needed medical care, leading to prolonged illnesses and costly emergency room visits. For seniors, one sick caregiver can jeopardize the health of their entire nursing home or leave their adult children without the workplace flexibility to care for their aging parents when they need them.