Top Earners Get Sick Leave, Not So Much at Bottom of Wage Scale
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Workers at the top of the wage scale are more than four times more likely to have paid sick days than workers toiling near the bottom wage scale, says a new Economic Policy Institute (EPI) Economic Snapshot.
Just 19 percent of low-wage workers have paid sick days, compared with 86 percent of high-wage workers. These low-income workers are the ones who can least afford to lose pay when they are sick. Overall one in four workers have no paid sick days and when they become ill, are forced to go to work sick, or stay home without pay and risk losing their job.
Many of those low-wage workers are also in occupations most likely to have regular contact with the public—food service and preparation, and personal care and service—according to a study earlier this year from the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR). And that, says Dr. Robert Drago, research director for IWPR, “raises serious public health concerns.”
The fewer the number of workers who are able to stay home when sick, the more likely it is that diseases will spread, increasing health care costs and causing needless economic losses. We saw this during the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic when workers without paid sick days were more likely to go to work while infected with H1N1.
Click here for more from IWPR.
Recent surveys show 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. More than 160 countries provide paid sick leave, but not the United States.
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.
Low-Income Young Workers Hard Hit
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While all young workers face a tougher economic reality in 2009 than they did in 1999, low-income workers face particularly tough economic challenges.
The new AFL-CIO and Working America report, “Young Workers a Lost Decade,” chronicles a future of economic doubts and a present of lower-paid jobs, fewer benefits and longer hours than under-35 workers faced a decade ago.
More than half of all young workers live on the low-income end of the wage scale, earning less than $30,000 a year. Three quarters of those workers say prices are rising faster than their incomes, and seven out of 10 say they do not have enough money saved to cover just two months of living expenses.
If they get sick, not only are young workers likely to lose a day’s wages if they stay home, they’ll pay for health care out of their own pockets. Less than half have paid sick leave—compared to 70 percent of workers who earn more than $30,000 a year—and 44 percent do not have health insurance.
Helping Low-Income Families Is Good for Business, Government
It’s not unusual for state legislatures to hand out tax breaks, subsidies and other financial goodies to Big Business. But shamefully, some lawmakers need to be convinced to focus on the needs of low-income working families.
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The Sloan Work and Family Research Network at Boston College has pulled together a compelling list of the challenges low-income working families face and how legislation aimed at those working families benefits the state and the business community.
The latest installment of the group’s Policy Leadership Series reports:
Legislation supporting low-income working families can meet the state’s fiscal goals, encourage workforce participation and promote a healthy, productive workforce.
