Sick of Ill Workers

Re “Why We Work Sick” (by Kathleen Doheny, Feb. 14): People who come to work while they are sick impact the productivity of those who come to work healthy. I work for a large aerospace firm where people with the flu would come to work routinely. Some of them were at work with raging fevers, debilitating coughs and sinus infections and they would be pouring bronchitis medication into their bodies, which made them spaced out.

A number of healthy people complained all the way up the ranks and now, if anyone so much as sneezes, they are marched out and sent home. This is the reason employers offer sick leave--so that the rest of us can work without fear of contamination from the inconsiderate people who work sick.

LINDA JOAN NELSON

Long Beach