President Barack Obama issued an executive order Monday that requires federal contractors to grant at least seven days of sick leave per year to their employees.

The order, effective starting 2017, will benefit an estimate 30,000 people who work for federal contractors. 

Workers may take a paid day off if they are sick or if they need to take care of a close family member who is sick. 

Obama decided to make the announcement and deliver his Labor Day speech in Boston in recognition of an ordinance that the city issued in April granting six weeks of parental leave to local government employees. Additionally, in July Massachusetts implemented a law that grants sick leave to employees across the state. 

During his speech, Obama called on states to pass laws that expand paid sick leave to all workers. According to the White House, 44 million workers in the nation, or 40 percent of the workforce in the private sector, don’t have sick leave. 

The president also pointed out that the United States is the only developed nation in the world that does not grant maternity leave and urged Congress to change this.

Last year, Obama required federal contractors to raise the minimum wage to $10.10 per hour, and last June he announced an overtime plan aimed at lifting wages for up to five million people.