Caught the Flu, but No Sick Leave; For the Poorest Earners, Paid Time Off Is a Crucial Missing Benefit
For many, taking a sick day requires little thought. But by most estimates, nearly half of all private-sector workers in the United States do not have a single day of paid sick leave. And more do not have a paid day off that can be used to care for a sick child.</br></br>Low-wage workers are hit the hardest, with three of every four lacking any paid sick leave. They also usually have no health-care coverage or work a full-time or more than full-time schedule of piecemeal, part-time jobs, making paid sick leave even more unlikely.</br></br>When workers without sick leave get a virus or an injury, they have to decide if they can take an unpaid day off and still make the rent. If not, they often return to their jobs as security guards, cooks, waitresses and cashiers -- decreasing their productivity and possibly getting others sick. Paid sick days can reduce turnover, cut down on health-care costs (although most companies that don't provide paid sick leave also don't provide health-care coverage), and increase productivity and morale.</br></br>There was movement on the paid-sick-day front last month. More than 60 percent of voters in San Francisco approved a ballot measure that would require all businesses with fewer than 10 workers to give employees up to 40 hours of paid sick leave a year; for larger employers, up to 72 hours. At every company, an employee will accrue one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked, so both part- time and full-time workers would be covered.</br></br>It probably won't end with San Francisco. There is a push to get similar measures in front of decision makers in other cities and states in the coming year, including in the District.