1Center or American Progress | Paid Sick Days
Fact Sheet
Paid Sick Days
Paid Sick Days Work for U.S. Employees and Employers
Jane Farrell and Joanna Venator August 16, 2012
Introduction
Mos Americans are working hard o pay heir bills and o ake care o heir amilies, yeoo many employers make i impossible o juggle hose work and amily obligaions. Tedanger o losing a job or missing a promoion because o illness, pregnancy, or akingcare o loved ones when working a companies ocused solely on he botom line leavesoo many moms and dads having o choose beween heir jobs and heir amilies. Abou hal o all workers on U.S. payrolls oday are women.
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Moreover, he major-iy o mohers, wheher married or single, work ouside he home, meaning ha inmos American amilies, all o he aduls work and here is no ull-ime say-a-homecaregiver.
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Tis is no jus a “women’s issue” since he changing naure o our amiliesimpacs men and women, aduls, and children. Indeed, as our populaion coninues orapidly age, more and more workers are nding hemselves providing elder care o heiraging parens as well.
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While our workorce and amilies have changed dramaically, our naion’s labor san-dards have no been updaed in decades. Tere are sensible policies ha would assisamilies while simulaneously helping employers’ botom lines, bu boh employers andpolicymakers have been slow o recognize how undamenally our lives have changedand wha needs o be done o make our workplace policies mach he way ha we liveand work oday.In his series we ideniy ve issues acing workers oday:paid sick days ,paid amily and
medical leave , workplace exibiliy ,child care , and he wage gap.As our naion has reached
a pivoal momen in hisory, policymakers will have o decide wheher hey will ake henecessary seps o suppor hardworking American amilies or wheher hey will con-inue along wih he saus quo.Here are he key acs you need o know abou he imporance o paid sick days.
2Center or American Progress | Paid Sick Days
Paid sick days
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38 percent of private-sector workers lack even one paid sick day.
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Tis percenageis lower or ull-ime privae-secor workers (25 percen), bu i is signicanly higheror par-ime workers, wih 73 percen lacking access. Full-ime workers are more hanhree imes as likely o have access o any orm o paid leave han par-ime workers.
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Low-income workers are less likely to have access to paid sick days.
Te average wageo workers wihou paid sick leave is $10 per hour. I a worker wih his salary has aamily o wo children and misses more han hree days o work wihou paid leave, heamily would all below he povery line due o los wages.
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Wha’s more, 90 perceno privae-secor workers whose earnings are in he op 10 percen in heir occupaionge paid sick days compared o only 23 percen o workers in he botom 25 percen.
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And workers wih a college degree are more han wice as likely o have access o paidleave han hose wih less han a high school educaion.
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Women are less likely than men to have paid sick days.
Female-dominaed jobs, suchas hose in service indusries, are less likely o oer paid sick leave.
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Tis discrepancy becomes crucial when considering ha 80 percen o mohers assume responsibiliy or heir children’s docor visis, meaning hey are more likely o need ime o work or a child’s illness han male workers.
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Parens wih access o paid sick days o care ora child are also nearly wice as likely o repor being very saised wih heir work hanhose wihou access.
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Workers with access to paid sick days are more likely to utilize preventative healthservices such as cancer screenings and tests.
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Sudies show hey are also less likely o use cosly hospial emergency rooms or delay reamen or hemselves or a amily member, even afer conrolling or access o healh insurance. Universal paid sick leave would reduce emergency room visis by 1.3 million a year, saving $1.1 billion in medi-cal coss annually.
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Finally, workers wih access o paid sick days are nearly one-hirdless likely o be injured on he job, resuling in lower healh care and employer coss.
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Many Americans risk their jobs to care for themselves and their families.
weny-hree percen o aduls say hey’ve been hreaened wih erminaion or red or akingime o when hey or a amily member were sick.
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Latinos are the least likely to have access to paid leave of any type out of any racialor ethnic group.
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Only 43 percen o Hispanic workers have access o paid leave,compared o 59 percen o whies, 61 percen o Arican Americans, and 62 perceno Asians. Lainos are also he leas likely group o have access o even unpaid leave—meaning ha when hey or a amily member ge sick, hey ruly have no opions.
3Center or American Progress | Paid Sick Days
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Workers without paid sick leave are 1.5 times more likely to go to work sick and con-tagious than those who have paid sick days.
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For insance, 90 percen o employeesin he ood service indusry do no have paid sick days.
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Seveny percen o womenand 67 percen o men in he resauran indusry repor cooking, preparing, or servingood while sick. Moreover, many o he workers leas likely o have paid sick days arehose who care or our amilies and loved ones in schools or elder care aciliies.
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Employers have little to lose and much to gain from granting paid sick days.
A sudy o Connecicu’s policy mandaing ve days o sick leave ound ha ull use o hisleave would cos an employer only 0.4 percen o heir sales revenue on average.
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Wihou paid sick days, employees come o work unhealhy, cosing employers $160 billion per year due o lower produciviy levels.
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Workers who have paid sick days don’t abuse them.
On average, workers who arecovered ake 3.9 days per year or illness and 1.3 days o care or sick amily members, while workers wihou sick days ake an average o 3 days per year.
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The United States is the only developed country that doesn’t guarantee paid sick leave.
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Tis hurs boh our economy and U.S. workers. As wage growh has sagnaed, benes such as paid sick days have become all he more imporan o ensuring work-ers can say ou o povery and in he middle class.
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Some states and municipalities are seeing the benefits of paid sick days.
Across hecounry, campaigns are underway o make paid sick leave a realiy or all Americans.
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San Francisco, he rs localiy o guaranee paid sick days, experienced ew problems wih is policy and is economy grew aser han hose o surrounding ciies once paidsick days were in place.
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Americans want a paid sick day policy.
Tree-quarers o aduls suppor a policy giving employees a minimum number o paid sick days.
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Niney percen o adulssuppor a specic proposal allowing up o seven paid sick days per year.
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The Healthy Families Act would provide workers with the right to up to seven job-protected paid sick days per year to recover from their own short-term illnesses or tocare for an ill family member.
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Sen. om Harkin’s (D-IA) Rebuild America Ac wouldalso implemen paid sick leave, helping working Americans enjoy job securiy whilesrenghening he middle class.
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Te botom line: Our naion’s new work and amily responsibiliies require paid sick days or he good o employers, employees, and heir amilies.
Jane Farrell is a Research Assistant for Economic Policy at American Progress. JoannaVenator is an intern at the Center.
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Fact Sheet: Paid Sick Days
Fact sheet by Jane Farrell and Joanna Venator explains the importance of paid sick days for U.S. employees and employers.
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