|
IWJ Policy Statement on Paid Sick Days
January 2008
Respecting the health and dignity of all human beings is a core religious value for all faith traditions.
This includes not just access to health care, but time away from work to recuperate from illness, as well as
to tend to ill family members. Yet nearly one half of American workers in the private sector (fifty-seven
million workers) cannot take a sick day without losing a day’s pay, or even possibly their job. Nearly 100
million hard-working Americans cannot take time off to care for a sick child or elderly parent.
Those Most in Need Are Least Able to Take a Paid Sick Day
Within the tens of millions of workers without paid sick days, two groups are particularly affected.
Less than one quarter of low-wage workers have paid sick days (PSD), although they are the workers who can
least afford to lose a day’s pay, and whose jobs often require contact with the public or its food supply.
For instance, 78% of food and public accommodation workers don’t have a single paid sick day.
Working mothers bear a heavy burden, as they lose pay, promotions, and general financial security when
they are penalized for taking time off to care for sick children. In fact, according to the Urban Institute,
41% of working parents below 200% of the federal poverty line have no paid leave of any kind.
[Figures are from the National Partnership for Women and Families.]
Workers who must provide elder care for sick and aging parents are also affected.
Paid Sick Days are Good for Business
Sick days are critical to maintaining a productive, healthy workforce. Businesses that offer paid sick days
see reduced turnover, higher productivity, and reduced spread of illness among workers. In fact, if workers
were provided seven paid sick days per year, the national economy would experience a net savings of $8.1 billion
(as cited by NPWF).
Lack of Policy
Despite the obvious need for paid sick days as a matter of a worker’s right, of family values, and of
public health for the American workforce, there are no state or federal laws that require workplaces to provide
paid sick days so that workers may care for themselves or their family members when they are ill.
Therefore, Interfaith Worker Justice supports passage of the
Healthy Families Act (H.R. 1542, S. 910),
which was introduced in Congress in March 2007. The Act would grant seven paid sick days to workers to care for
themselves or a family member, and to seek preventive care. It would apply to firms with 15 or more workers.
The legislation has 78 cosponsors in the House and 24 in the Senate (as of Jan. 2, 2008).
We need to spread the word about this important bill. Interfaith Worker Justice is working with a
coalition (coordinated by the National Partnership for Women and Families) to garner support for this
important legislation in the faith community and in Congress. See the main paid sick days page
for information on how you can get involved.
On the state level, bills will be introduced in 2008 in several states, including Connecticut, Florida, Maryland,
Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Vermont. Municipal campaigns are
underway in the District of Columbia and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (San Francisco passed a paid sick days ordinance in 2006.)
See a summary of these campaigns at www.paidsickdays.org and click on "Local Campaigns."
|
