Why all American workers need paid sick days

Most people believe that U.S. workers have the right to paid sick days, yet according to the
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, almost half of full-time, private-sector workers have no sick
days at all. Government data also shows a national trend toward a reduction in paid sick days.

Workers need about seven sick days each year to manage their own health care. But for almost
half of U.S. employees, the absence of sick pay is likely to cause them loss of income, a job or
advancement, says the National Partnership for Women & Families.

The U.S. federal Family & Medical Leave Act enacted in 1993 provides only unpaid days for
serious illness. There is currently no federal law guaranteeing a single day of paid sick leave to
workers.

In a March 2007 survey of 50 of the largest food-servcie and retail companies, ACORN found that more than half did not offer any sick days to hourly employees.

The United States lags behind the rest of the world in requiring employers to provide workers
with paid sick days. Research from The Project on Global Working Families at Harvard University
found 139 nations provide paid days for short or long-term illnesses.

Listen to National Public Radio’s “Marketplace” report about how the United States compares to other industrialized nations.

The consequences of a lack of paid sick days include health effects, workplace contagion, reduced productivity, turnover
costs, poor recovery from illness and surgery, and increased use of healthcare resources.

What a lack of sick leave means to families:

Almost half of working women say they must miss work when a child becomes ill and almost half of those lose pay. Children
who lack a parent to stay home with them during their illness take longer to recover.

As the U.S. population ages, baby boomers increasingly must care for elderly relatives. Four in 10 employees currently say
they have missed work to provide elder care, and research shows that by 2008, almost two-thirds of Americans under 60
will be responsible for the care of an elderly relative.

What a lack of sick leave means in the workplace:

Failure to provide sick days to workers results in unnecessary costs to businesses, including reduced productivity.

Workers who lack sick days – particularly low-wage workers – go to work sick and infect others. Lack of paid sick days also
lowers morale and increases absenteeism and turnover.

“Presenteeism,” or employees coming to work sick, costs employers an average of $255 per employee per year. U.S.
businesses lose $180 billion per year in productivity due to sickness in the workplace.

Employers who provide short-term sick leave reduce their costs for recruiting and training new workers to replace them

Who needs sick days:

Office workers

Restaurant workers

Parents and their children