Lack of Paid Sick Leave Is Family and Public Health Concern
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More than 44 million private-sector workers in the United States—42 percent of the private-sector workforce—don’t have paid sick days they can use to recover from a common illness like the flu, according to new research by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR).
The new analysis reveals that more workers lack paid sick days than government reports show because it includes 4.2 million workers who have not been on the job long enough to be eligible for paid sick days.
Debra Ness, president of the National Partnership for Women & Families (NPWF), calls the new data a “jarring reminder that workplace policies in this country are grossly inadequate.”
It should be a compelling call to action for lawmakers at the local, state and federal levels, with unemployment high, jobs scarce and more working families relying on one income instead of two, too many workers forced to sacrifice their health or their financial security when illness strikes or a family emergency occurs.
Public Supports Paid Sick Leave
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Three-quarters of Americans say paid sick leave should be a “basic workers’ right” and Congress should pass legislation that guarantees workers paid sick leave, according to a new survey by the Public Welfare Foundation (PWF).
PWF President Deborah Leff says the overwhelming support for paid sick leave legislation shows
that a majority of people in every racial group and every income level, every age group, every part of the country, both political parties see paid sick days as a basic worker right.
Work. Family. Conflict. Resolution?
The realities of our workplaces have not changed to meet the new realities of our economy and society, says AFL-CIO Executive Vice President Arlene Holt Baker. Employers and political leaders must create new policies that help working families deal with their basic needs of feeding their families, caring for their elderly parents, paying the mortgage.
Speaking this afternoon to a conference on the “Three Faces of Work-Family Conflict,” sponsored by the Center for American Progress, Holt Baker said, “Our families are trying to live in two different worlds at the same time—and it is just not working.”
Most people—men and women, across race and class—agree that the changing status of women is a good thing, now that we are half the workforce and have the opportunity and the weight of being breadwinners. But we also agree that something’s got to give.
The conflict between work and family is no longer between men and women, Holt Baker said. “It’s between families and the systems that are not meeting our needs.” Read the rest of this entry »
Report: Paid Sick Leave Doesn’t Hurt Economy
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As Congress begins considering legislation that would guarantee workers up to seven paid sick days per year, a new study from the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR), a nonpartisan think tank, finds that mandatory paid sick days do not lead to higher unemployment.
“Paid Sick Days Don’t Cause Unemployment” examines the connection between government-mandated paid sick days and the national rate of unemployment in 22 highly developed countries. Click here to read the report.
Says John Schmitt, a senior economist at CEPR and co-author of the report:
Despite frequent claims to the contrary from some in the business community, we found no correlation between paid sick days and unemployment. Guaranteeing paid sick days does not put countries at a competitive disadvantage.
