First came mandatory unpaid sick leave  (the Family and Medical Leave Act). You knew that a mandate for paid sick leave would not be far behind.

Stateline.org reports that Sick Leave Tops State Labor Agendas in the states. At least seven states, the news service reports, will debate these measures.

Once again, we have another idea that sounds sensible, reasonable, and compassionate--and which is terribly wrong. It violates the natural right of two parties to voluntarily agree to the terms of employment.

It also raises the costs of employment, which will at the margins make it less attractive for a business to hire a person (Econ 101), and substitute labor-saving devices such as self-serve kiosks. The people who will be most affected by this are the workers who are already less attractive to employers. And whose jobs are more easily replaced by machines? The unskilled and low-wage workers.

If you're concerned about income inequality--the next wedge issue in national politics, perhaps--the last thing you want to do is make it more difficult for a low-wage worker to get a job.

Then there's the problem with the slacker mandate. Obviously the "you must provide X days of sick leave" rule isn't explicitly pro-slacker. But just when an illness requires a person to stay home from work is a notoriously subjective question, opening the door to employee abuse. (Hey, I've got 9 days of sick leave coming, and I'm going to use them whether I am sick or not!)

Proponents sell the notion on the idea that it will contribute to public health by making it easier for employees to stay home rather than go into work and thus spread contagions. But it's quite possible that they end result will be the opposite. To avoid the slacker problem, some employers will be stricter in requiring a doctor's note for all sick days. Rather than visit the doctor--something that is not unknown of, especially among men--some employees will instead gut it out and go into the workplace.

Sick leave is good. It's good for companies, employees and the public at large, but only if it's voluntarily agreed to by employers and employees.

A sick leave requirement? That's a prescription for poor economic health.