Adventures of Paid Sick Days Superwoman

Denise sat alone in her apartment in San Jose on a Friday night. She couldn't remember the last time she had gone out and had fun. Denise flipped on her TV and surfed the stations. To Denise's disappointment, there was nothing interesting on TV.

Denise then heard a loud knock at her door. She opened her door. A woman with a long purple sweater and black leggings held a clipboard in her left hand and a bag in her right hand.

Denise asked, "How can help you?"

"Are you Denise?" the woman asked.

"Yes, I am," Denise replied.

"You've been recruited," said the woman.

"Recruited for what?" asked Denise.

"You will be our paid sick days superwoman," said the woman. "You will be a superhero to workers throughout California."

"I think you have made a mistake," said Denise. "I don't have any super powers."

"You have super powers," said the woman.

"No I don't," Denise protested, "I can't go faster than a speeding bullet. I can't climb tall buildings and I can't fly."

"But you have the gift of writing," said the woman.

"Writing is not a super power," said Denise.

"Most people can't write these days," said the woman. "The committee saw samples of your writing and was thoroughly impressed."

"Thank you but I still don't think I qualify," said Denise.

"Yes, you do," said the woman. "You've worked for nonprofits your entire career. You've been involved with community groups. We need someone who cares about making a difference. So you're a great fit."

"Okay," said Denise. "So what's the first step?"

The woman pulled an outfit from her bag and handed it to Denise. "First, you'll need to change into this."

Denise went to her bathroom and changed. She looked at herself in the mirror. Her superhero costume fit perfectly. It was a purple t-shirt with Paid Sick Days Superwoman emblazoned on the front. Matching the t-shirt was a pair of purple leggings.

Denise walked out the bathroom and modeled the outfit.

"You look great," said the woman. "No one can know your real identity. So you'll need to wear a wig and glasses as well."

The woman handed Denise a wig and glasses and Denise put them on. She definitely looked a lot different.

"Now what?" asked Denise.

"There's a group of San Jose workers who need help tonight," said the woman.

"Will you go with me?" asked Denise.

"No, you are a superhero and you work alone," said the woman. She then wrote down an address and handed it to Denise.

"I'll leave now," said Denise.

"Good," said the woman.

Denise said good-bye to the woman, locked her apartment door and walked to her car. She got into her car and drove to the restaurant where the workers worked.

When she arrived at the restaurant, she was greeted by the hostess. The hostess exclaimed, "You must be paid sick days superwoman. We heard that you were coming."

Denise nodded her head. "How can I help you?" Denise asked.

"There are sick workers who are working tonight. They can't go home because they won't get paid," said the hostess.

"That's terrible," said Denise. She then glanced around the restaurant. She saw a worker sneeze. Another looked very pale and tired. And a third had a runny nose.

"Please help us by writing a petition," said the hostess. The hostess then handed Denise a pad with a pen.

Denise began drafting a petition and within a few minutes, she was done. She handed the petition to the hostess. "I think this covers what you need."

The hostess read the petition and said, "This is perfect. I'll get all the workers to sign it."

The hostess talked to the workers. Every worker signed the petition. The hostess then showed Denise their signatures.

"This is great," said Denise. "You should give this to the owner."

"We'll do that right now," said the hostess. "Can you go with us?"

"Sure," said Denise.

The hostess along with two workers and Denise walked to the boss's office. They handed the boss the petition.

The boss read the petition and put her hand on her chin. She looked at Denise and said, "You must be the author of the petition. This is excellent writing. You made an excellent point about protecting our customers from sick workers."

Denise nodded her head. "Yes, it's important that we don't infect the customers with the workers' illnesses."

"You're absolutely correct," said the boss. "Based on the petition, I will provide our workers with paid sick days."

"Thank you," said the hostess.

The boss then turned to the hostess and said, "Please tell the workers who are sick to go home and get well. We will pay them for their time off."

"I will do this now," said the hostess. The hostess along with the two workers left the boss's office.

The boss turned to Denise and said, "Is there anything else I can do?

"Please tell everyone you know to sign the petition for paid sick days for California workers," answered Denise. "Every signature will make a difference."

"I will do that," said the boss.