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One of the most controversial issues facing Ohioans at the polls this November is the Healthy Families Act, Issue 4.

It would require all businesses with 25 or more employees to offer up to seven paid sick days per year to full-time employees and a prorated amount for part-time.

It would be the first such government mandate for a state in the U.S. if passed. Currently, Washington D.C. and the city of San Francisco, Calif., have similar laws.

With 150 employees manufacturing windows at Hamilton's Vinylmax, general manager Jim Doerger estimates the benefit would cost the company $1,000 per employee. To pay for that, Vinylmax would have to increase the price of its windows 75 cents each — not a small sum in a cut-throat business, he said.

"At a factory, it's already hard enough to get people to show up on time. Now they can do it with no repercussion and I am going to have to pay for it," he said. "It's going to put me at a big cost disadvantage."

For Mike Soule of computer service company Soule Solutions, it takes away his freedom to negotiate.

"I'm all for companies taking care of employees and offering them sick days, but it's something that should be worked out between the employer and the workers, not the government," he said.

At Monroe Family Pet Hospital, Dr. Matthew Heller said he thinks sick days would be a good benefit, but "with any benefit there is an expense.

"Does the benefit outweigh the expense? In this case, I would say probably," he said.

For the 23 years Hamilton resident Wayne Hicks has worked for SteelCraft in Blue Ash, he has only been sick one day — and he went unpaid.

"I've seen so many people in my facility come to work sick because they couldn't afford to lose the money," he said. "I understand that. I'm not looking at this law for myself, but for the others that have a legitimate need. So many have sick days already, we need to look at this as a way to help each other."

To Middletown resident Robin Fordyce, 54, the law is imperative for people who work some of the hardest jobs for the least pay.

"It is so inhuman for the people on the lower end of the economic totem pole that we should expect them to work so hard and not get sick. It's your manufacturers, your food servers ... we need to help," she said.

Local school districts say the legislation is unclear on whether substitutes and other temporary workers would be entitled to sick time, something they do not receive now. Districts worry the mandate could require them to bring in substitutes for substitutes.

The two largest districts in the area, Lakota Local Schools and Mason City Schools, speculate they could spend more than $30,000 a year on sick days just for their substitutes.

They also worry about the requirement to allow employees to take sick leave on an hourly basis. Under many master contracts, employees must take at least a quarter day of sick time.

And most schools say they will have to change the software they use to track sick time and possibly hire additional help to track it.

Meanwhile, the city of Middletown has about 125 part-time employees who do not have sick days. To add them could cost as much as $96,000 a year, said Finance Director Russ Carolus.

"The point of having part-time workers is so you don't have to pay them full-time benefits," he said.

Butler County government workers already receive 15 paid sick days per year. However, employees cannot take it on an hourly basis, which the law stipulates. Issue 4 also does not require documentation for sick leave, which could lead to abuses, said Douglas Duckett, county personnel director.

What others are saying:

Scott Rich, president of AK union Machinists Local Lodge 1943.

"If someone could stay home it would help stop the spread of the illness and let us all get more work done."

Kenny Craig, Greater Hamilton Chamber of Commerce "This (law) puts a bad taste in people's mouths. The additional record keeping and administrative work to track time that will go along with this act will cost businesses thousands they can't spare in these times."

Alan McCoy, spokesman for AK Steel "For our continuous operations, this provision would disrupt our schedules and our employees' schedules who would be forced, with little or no warning, to work overtime to cover an absent employee... It would significantly raise the cost of doing business in Ohio."

Dave Lippert, president of Hamilton Caster

"I can't imagine any company either planning to move or start an operation in the state of Ohio and take a really hard look at this required cost and not say we would rather be in Kentucky or Indiana or some other state."

Gov. Ted Strickland "While we would hope that all Ohio businesses would make paid sick days available to their employees whenever possible, we believe that this initiative is unworkable, unwieldy and would be detrimental to Ohio's economy, and we will be opposing it and asking Ohioans to oppose it as a result."

What the provision says:

Seven days of sick leave per year for employees working 30 hours or more per week and a pro-rated number of days for part-time workers.

Accrual begins immediately, but sick days cannot be taken until an employee works at least 90 days.

Leave can be used for physical or mental illness, injury or health care for an employee or the worker's child, spouse or parent.

Time can be taken by the day or by the hour.

A reason must be given for sick day requests, but certification from a health-care professional is required only if absence extends past three consecutive days.

Unused days can't be cashed in.