Tracison Casarrubias, who protects Amazon headquarters for Security Industry Specialists (SIS), was featured in a national broadcast on President Obama's paid sick leave proposal. The Seattle community was on the forefront when they succeeded in passing a paid sick leave law in 2012, and this leadership was also noted in the broadcast.

However, SIS didn't comply with Seattle's law when Tracison suffered an asthma attack while on post at Amazon. Although a supervisor relieved her of her post, and told her to rest up, another supervisor suspended her without pay when she returned to work.

"They confiscated my badge, and my security ID card, and escorted me out of the building, as though I was a fugitive of some sort, or some criminal," Tracison told Al Jazeera America.

When it happened, Tracison didn't realize that SIS was violating Seattle's paid sick leave law. She just accepted what seemed like "business as usual," and made some difficult choices: turning off the hot water and borrowing money from family and friends to keep food on the table.Tracison is one of fifteen current and former SIS employees who have filed complaints with Seattle's Office of Civil Rights (OCR) for violations of the city's sick time law, and the OCR has launched its own investigation as a Director's Charge.To those who say that paid sick leave would cost too much for employers, Tracison had this to say: "I can not perform to the fullest of my capabilities if I'm not healthy."

Watch excerpts from Al Jazeera's piece below.