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Our only agenda is to publish the truth so you can be an informed participant in democracy. We need your help. More Info ### I would like to contribute One Time Monthly Yearly Join Now ![](\\" ![](\\" Occupy Democrats stated on March 12, 2020 in a Facebook post: Says Rep. Matt Gaetz and Sen. Ted Cruz took two weeks paid sick leave to self- quarantine. Gaetz “voted in 2013 to make it illegal for any city in Florida to enact paid sick leave,” and Cruz “voted in 2015 in the U.S. Senate against paid sick leave.” ![\\"true\\"](\\" half-true/6479cbc723379f0ee49c269b0b9790b7.jpg.\\") ![\\"half- true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") * Congress * Public Health * Facebook Fact-checks * Florida * Texas * Occupy Democrats ![\\"Rep.](\\" Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., speaks during Conservative Political Action Conference, CPAC 2020, at the National Harbor, in Oxon Hill, Md., Thursday, Feb. 27, 2020. (AP) ![\\"Amy](\\" By Amy Sherman March 17, 2020 # Did Matt Gaetz and Ted Cruz oppose paid sick leave but take it for themselves? #### If Your Time is short * Gaetz and Cruz both placed themselves in self-quarantine after coming in contact with a person who tested positive for the coronavirus at a conservative political conference. * As a Florida state representative, Gaetz voted for a 2013 bill to ban cities from requiring employers to offer paid sick leave. * Cruz voted against an amendment in the U.S. Senate in 2015 that would have provided seven days’ paid sick leave. See the sources for this fact-check U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, both put themselves in quarantine after learning they were in contact with someone who later tested positive for coronavirus. Occupy Democrats, a liberal group, said that both lawmakers are hypocritical, because they have paid leave through their own jobs but took stances in the past against paid sick leave for other workers. \"Hypocritical politicians of the day, March 12, 2020,\" stated the Facebook post, which was deleted from Occupy Democrats’ Facebook page after we asked about it. \"Rep Matt Gaetz was exposed to coronavirus, took 2 weeks paid sick leave off from Congress to self-quarantine. Voted in 2013 to make it illegal for any city in Florida to enact paid sick leave.\" The post, which we found posted elsewhere, states that Cruz also took two weeks’ paid sick leave and \"voted in 2015 in the U.S. Senate against paid sick leave.\" We found that while the post gets the lawmakers’ votes right, it makes a notable leap when it states that the men took paid sick leave. As members of Congress, they don’t have to take sick leave but were able to work from home at their own discretion. It’s a privilege that many working people don’t have. Federal law does not require paid sick leave, but 12 states and Washington, D.C., have enacted laws to require it, and other cities have similar policies. This post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.) Gaetz and Cruz self-quarantine Both Gaetz and Cruz self-quarantined in March after they learned that they had come in contact with a person at the Conservative Political Action Conference who later tested positive for the coronavirus. Gaetz announced his self-quarantine on March 9 and said he would complete it March 12. Gaetz said he took a lab test and that it came back negative for COVID-19. Cruz announced his self-quarantine March 8. Cruz said he would continue his self-quarantine until March 17. An initial press release appears to show Cruz wasn’t tested. Both Cruz and Gaetz said they were working remotely while self-quarantined. \"I’m on calls with my staff, I’m doing a radio interview a little bit later, I think I might be doing a phone interview on television a little bit later, so I’m doing all the things I would normally do, just from my house,\" Gaetz told The Spectator. News releases from Cruz’s office during the past several days showed he continued to work on legislation and urged the administration to take certain steps to track coronavirus cases. #### Featured Fact-check ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/322c808c00e73c217d17772ddd5a0eb5.jpg\\") ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/8b142c91ebe468a84a192e6df2b7b994.jpg\\") Instagram posts stated on September 17, 2024 in an Instagram post CDC warns a third of adults may die from dangerous bacteria in ramen noodles. ![\\"true\\"](\\" false/33efdb6633e5e2fdc2d4e2f63383a1e0.jpg.\\") ![\\"false\\"](\\" false.jpg\\") By Jeff Cercone • September 18, 2024 Members of Congress can take time off when they are ill and for other excused absences, and they continue to be paid, said Brad Fitch, CEO of the Congressional Management Foundation. But they can’t vote remotely. Traditionally, members have entered statements in the Congressional Record after they’ve missed votes, stating how they would have voted if present. More about their votes So Gaetz and Cruz were working from home, not on paid sick leave. But have they opposed paid sick leave for others? As a Florida state representative in 2013, Gaetz voted in favor of HB 655, which banned local governments from requiring employers to provide employment benefits, including paid sick time. It passed the Senate 25-13 and passed the House 76-41, and then-Gov. Rick Scott signed it into law. The bill was a response to a petition signed by 50,000 Orange County voters seeking a voter referendum on sick pay. Those against sick leave requirements included the state’s business lobby, Walt Disney World and Darden Restaurants (which owns Olive Garden). Gaetz said recently he opposed the measure because he didn’t want local governments making many different rules. Cruz voted against sick leave in 2015, when U.S. senators considered an amendment to provide seven days of paid sick leave. Amid efforts to contain the rapid spread of COVID-19, federal lawmakers are again talking about sick leave. The House passed a bill March 14 that included 14 days’ paid sick leave, but it only covers small and mid-sized companies, and it doesn’t cover workers who are self-employed. The bill is expected to go to the Senate this week. Vicki Shabo, an expert on paid leave at the New America think tank, said that close to 30% of private-sector workers don’t have paid sick leave, and that’s disproportionally in low-wage service and care industries. While workers who have flexibility or are in positions of power can choose to stay home if they want to, most people don’t have job protections or security to be able to do that, Shabo said. Our ruling A Facebook post by Occupy Democrats said Gaetz and Cruz took two weeks paid sick leave to self-quarantine. Gaetz \"voted in 2013 to make it illegal for any city in Florida to enact paid sick leave\" and Cruz \"voted in 2015 in the U.S. Senate against paid sick leave.\" The post correctly notes that Gaetz and Cruz have voted against paid sick leave. But it goes wrong in saying that the two men are on paid sick leave now. They’re actually working from home, and their positions give them that discretion. However, it’s important to note that they can’t vote remotely on matters before Congress. The claim is partially accurate but leaves out important context. We rate it Half True. #### Read About Our Process The Principles of the Truth-O-Meter ### Our Sources Occupy Democrats, Facebook post, March 12, 2020 U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, Tweet, March 9, 2020 U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, Tweet, March 10, 2020 U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, Statement on COVID-19, March 8, 2020 U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, Sen. Cruz Announces Decision to Extend Self-Quarantine Until March 17 Out of Abundance of Caution, March 13, 2020 Tampa Bay Times, Matt Gaetz made fun of coronavirus scare. Now he’s in self- isolation. March 9, 2020 The Spectator, Matt Gaetz calls from self-quarantine, March 11, 2020 Roll Call, Vulnerable Senators Switch Votes on Paid Sick Leave (Updated), March 26, 2015 The Hill, GOP blocks minimum wage, sick leave proposals, Aug. 5, 2015 Senate.gov, Murray amendment 798, March 26, 2015 Florida House of Representatives, HB 655, 2013 Orlando Sentinel, Local laws on sick pay targeted, Jan. 17, 2013 Orlando Sentinel, Scott blocks paid sick time vote in Orange, statewide, June 14, 2013 Orlando Sentinel, No need for mandatory sick-leave law, task force says, Jan. 10, 2014 Mother Jones, Forced to Work Sick? That’s Fine With Disney, Red Lobster, and Their Friends at ALEC, 2013 Family Values @ Work, How Corporate Giants Try to Suppress Democracy, June 2013 Grassroots map, Preemption bills, Accessed March 13, 2020 Washington Post, Administration, congressional negotiators near deal on coronavirus economic relief package, March 13, 2020 U.S. Senate Committee on Heath, Education, Labor and Pensions, CORONAVIRUS: Murray, DeLauro Introduce New Emergency Paid Sick Days Legislation, March 6, 2020 National Conference of State Legislatures, Paid sick leave, Accessed March 13, 2020 Fox News, Interview with U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, March 13, 2020 Politico, House passes sweeping coronavirus response package, March 14, 2020 Washington Post, Why can’t Congress vote from home? March 12, 2020 PolitiFact, Paid sick leave policies came to Maryland, D.C. before Austin, May 3, 2019 Telephone interview, Ellen Bravo, Family Values @ Work strategic advisor, March 13, 2020 Telephone interview, Vicki Shabo, New America Senior Fellow, Paid Leave Policy and Strategy, Better Life Lab, March 13, 2020 Email interview, Brad Fitch, CEO of the Congressional Management Foundation, March 13, 2020 Email interview, Rafael Rivero, Occupy Democrats, March 16, 2020 ## Browse the Truth-O-Meter ### More by Amy Sherman ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on September 29, 2024 in a rally in Erie, Pennsylvania: Vice President Kamala Harris “even wants to legalize fentanyl.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Amy Sherman • October 1, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on September 30, 2024 in a press conference in Georgia: Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp was calling President Joe Biden after Hurricane Helene but \"hasn\'t been able to get him.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Caleb McCullough • September 30, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Jared Moskowitz stated on September 19, 2024 in una audiencia en la Cámara de Representantes: “El Proyecto 2025 quiere deshacerse de la NOAA” y del Servicio Nacional de Meteorología. ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By Maria Briceño • September 27, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Jared Moskowitz stated on September 19, 2024 in a House hearing: “Project 2025 wants to get rid of NOAA” and the National Weather Service. ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By Amy Sherman • September 26, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on September 18, 2024 in a speech in New York: When Haitians go to school in Springfield, Ohio, they “take the place of our children in school” and “each one will have a private interpreter.\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Amy Sherman • September 23, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" JD Vance stated on August 25, 2024 in an interview on NBC\'s \"Meet the Press\": A zero-tolerance policy during the Trump administration \"led to less family separation than under Kamala Harris\' border policies.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Amy Sherman • September 4, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on August 26, 2024 in an interview with a podcaster: Vice President Kamala Harris “is a communist. … She is really a Marxist.” ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Amy Sherman • September 4, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Rick Scott stated on August 28, 2024 in a post on X: “This month alone, more than 16,000 non-citizens have been removed from the voter rolls in 3 states.” ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By Samantha Putterman • August 29, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on August 23, 2024 in a speech in Las Vegas: “Kamala cast the tiebreaking vote to hire 87,000 new IRS agents to go after your tip income.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Amy Sherman • August 28, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Tim Walz stated on August 14, 2024 in a speech in California: Former President Donald Trump “cut overtime benefits for millions of workers.” ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Amy Sherman • August 20, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Pete Buttigieg stated on August 11, 2024 in an interview on CNN State of the Union: Gov. Tim Walz delivered paid family leave in Minnesota but “Republicans are blocking” a Biden-Harris proposal. ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"mostly-true\\"](\\" mostly-true.jpg\\") By Amy Sherman • August 16, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on August 8, 2024 in a press conference: Says his Jan. 6, 2021, speech on the White House Ellipse drew the “same number of people,” as the 1963 March on Washington where Martin Luther King Jr. gave his “I Have a Dream” speech. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Louis Jacobson • August 9, 2024 ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/322c808c00e73c217d17772ddd5a0eb5.jpg\\") ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/8b142c91ebe468a84a192e6df2b7b994.jpg\\") Instagram posts stated on August 2, 2024 in a video: In Pompano Beach, Florida, Somali immigrants illegally in the U.S. were in line to get driver’s licenses and “all you need to vote is a driver\'s license.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Kwasi Gyamfi Asiedu • August 7, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on July 27, 2024 in a rally in St. Cloud, Minnesota: During the 2020 Minnesota riots after George Floyd’s murder, Gov. Tim Walz didn’t call in the National Guard, “so, I sent in the National Guard to save Minneapolis.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Amy Sherman • August 7, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on August 3, 2024 in a rally in Atlanta: Kamala Harris “supports mandatory gun confiscation.” ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Amy Sherman • August 7, 2024 ### Did Matt Gaetz and Ted Cruz oppose paid sick leave but take it for themselves? * ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on September 29, 2024 in a rally in Erie, Pennsylvania: Vice President Kamala Harris “even wants to legalize fentanyl.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Amy Sherman • October 1, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" House Majority PAC stated on September 9, 2024 in a television ad: Laurie Buckhout is “trying to get to Congress to pass a national abortion ban, allowing politicians to ban abortions with no exceptions and prosecute women if they get an abortion, treating women right here like criminals.” ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Paul Specht • October 1, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump Jr. stated on September 9, 2024 in a post: “Less than three months ago, Kamala Harris and her administration blocked 300,000 unvetted Haitian migrants from being deported out of our country.\" ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Kwasi Gyamfi Asiedu • September 30, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" X posts stated on September 30, 2024 in an X post: Photo shows President Joe Biden lounging on the beach \"while towns all over America were being wiped out” by Hurricane Helene. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Samantha Putterman • September 30, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Social Media stated on September 30, 2024 in in social media posts: “Biden Announces: ‘2.4 billion more to Ukraine’ but ‘no more aid for Hurricane Helene.’” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Jeff Cercone • September 30, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on September 24, 2024 in a post: “Olympic boxer Imane Khelif fails gender test, stripped of all titles, lifetime ban and $25 million prize money revoked!” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Grace Abels • September 30, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on September 30, 2024 in a press conference in Georgia: Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp was calling President Joe Biden after Hurricane Helene but \"hasn\'t been able to get him.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Caleb McCullough • September 30, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Viral image stated on September 29, 2024 in an Instagram post: “Video shows Kamala (Harris) responding to someone talking through her earrings that she allegedly wore during the Trump vs. Harris debate.” ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Ciara O\'Rourke • September 30, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Elissa Slotkin stated on September 30, 2024 in a Meta ad: U.S. Senate candidate Mike Rogers “believes he should make that decision” about whether to end pregnancies. ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Caleb McCullough • September 30, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Tim Sheehy stated on September 27, 2024 in an ad: U.S. Sen. Jon Tester “voted to give taxpayer-funded health care to illegal immigrants.\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Louis Jacobson • September 30, 2024 Load more ### Support independent fact-checking. Become a member! In a world of wild talk and fake news, help us stand up for the facts. 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Says Rep Matt Gaetz and Sen Ted Cruz took two weeks paid sick leave to selfquarantine Gaetz voted in 2013 to make it illegal for any city in Florida to enact paid sick leave and Cruz voted in 2015 in the US Senate against paid sick leave