As lawmakers spar over mandatory sick days, Microsoft is making sure contractors who do business with the company get enough paid time off.
The Seattle-based computing giant has announced a new rule requiring that many of the companies that contract with it give their employees at least 15 days of paid sick and vacation time, the New York Times reports
The Times notes paid sick time has become an increasingly important issue in the tech industry, where an increasing amount of labor is performed by contractors:
As the economy has become more dependent on contract workers, workers’ rights advocates have voiced concern about their working conditions, especially for low-skilled jobs.
The situation is particularly acute in the tech industry, where average full-time employees earn more than $115,000 a year, along with generous benefits like child care, gourmet cafeterias and luxury shuttle rides to work. Many of the contracted service workers — who take care of the children, cook the food or drive the shuttles — earn near poverty-level wages and often do not receive basic benefits like sick leave.