That’s the message to food industry workers from the nation’s public health watchdog, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The problem is staying home isn’t an option for food industry workers — 70% of whom are low wage employees with no paid sick days.
But for most workers, taking off when sick means no pay, and at worse a lost job.
“If I don’t get paid I get behind on rent and I have to go to the food bank,” said Martin Ayala, a clerk in the meat department of a large Los Angeles supermarket that caters to a booming Hispanic market.
For Ayala, working sick is a way of life. The Mexican immigrant, who has been in the United States for 25 years, admits that he’s unintentionally sneezed and coughed on food and has seen his co-workers do the same even while sick.
But with an hourly wage of $11.36 with which he supports a family, he says he can’t afford to miss a day.
“Yesterday and today I had the flu. It’s very simple for me with four kids – I have to work,” said the 47-year-old father, who has worked at the El Super food market for five years.