Archive for the 'Sick Leave' Category

Sick in the City

Julie Schwartz Weber November 11th, 2009

The Community Service Society of New York (CSS) and A Better Balance (ABB) just released a report entitled “Sick in the City: What Lack of Paid Leave Means for Working New Yorkers.”  This report concerns the importance of paid leave, particularly in light of the recent H1N1 outbreak.  In this report, authors Jeremy Reiss (CSS) and Nancy Rankin (ABB) analyze 8 years of data extracted from annual surveys concerning lack of paid sick leave for working New Yorkers, outline economic and public health arguments in support of paid sick leave legislation, and conclude with a call to pass paid sick leave legislation.  Highlights from their report include the following:

  1. Nearly half (48%) of working New Yorkers do not receive paid sick days, while 44% receive no paid vacation.  A full 39%–or 1.3 million workers in New York City–receive no paid leave (sick or vacation).
    • 66% of low-income workers in New York City lack paid sick leave, with Latinos faring the worst; more than 7 out of 10 Latinos lack paid sick leave.
    • 60% of low-income working moms in New York City lack paid sick leave for themselves and for their children.
  2. Availability of paid sick leave is declining across income spectrums.
    • Where 56% of the near-poor had paid sick leave in 2007, only 33% have it in 2009.
    • Where 82% of moderate to high-income workers had it in 2004, only 63% have it in 2009.
  3. Workers in unions are more likely to receive paid sick leave; 64% of those in union jobs have paid sick days versus 48% of those in non-union jobs.

  4. Workers in small businesses in New York City are the least likely to receive paid sick leave; nearly two-thirds of those in businesses with 10 or fewer employees lack paid sick leave.  The authors underscore that these small businesses hire over 26% of all New Yorkers.

  5. Workers in the service sectors, construction and manufacturing are the least likely to receive paid sick leave, with a full 68% of working New Yorkers lacking paid sick leave in the leisure, hospitality, retail and wholesale areas.

  6. When no paid sick leave is provided, low-income workers who take time off to care for themselves or a sick child are more likely to be threatened with retaliation in the form of docked pay, job loss, or suspension.

  7. The lack of paid sick leave results in public health consequences, including the spread of contagious illnesses, like H1N1, and higher health care costs. Low-income workers without paid sick leave are more likely to go to work sick, and more likely to rely on emergency room visits to tend to routine medical issues. Even when these workers have health insurance coverage, the ER provides care outside of work hours and does not jeopardize job security.

  8. Most New Yorkers, across income and political party lines, support the passage of a paid sick law.

For more information on paid sick days, generally, visit our mini-brief and topic page on the matter.

Results of Network Polls: Paid Sick Leave and Telework

Judi Casey August 5th, 2009

We asked “What is your experience with telework?” for our Network poll from May 19-June 25, 2009. Forty-seven percent indicated that they “occasionally work remotely,” while 23% noted that they ”work remotely several days a week.” Twelve percent indicated that “I wish that I could work remotely but my employer does not support this,“ while 10% “work remotely every day.” Eight percent of the 73 respondents reported that “my job is not suited for telework.”

For more on telework, see the Topic Page, the Effective Workplace Series, the Policy Briefing Series, and the Fact Sheet.

From June 26 - July 31, 2009, we asked “When you or a family member is sick, who do you think should provide your pay when you stay home from work (please select all that apply)?” Of the 63 people that responded, 41% said “my employer” while 11% said, “my employer, but not if it’s a small business.” Twenty-four percent indicated “my local government, state or country,” and 22% replied, “no one, it’s my responsibility.” One person commented, “Assuming I can work from home–and why not?–my employer should pay.” For more on paid sick leave, see our Topic Page, Policy Brief, Mini-Brief, Fact Sheet, and our Network News interview with Sherry Leiwant.

Our current poll asks “Are you taking vacation time this summer?” Please answer on our home page or on our blog; thank you!

Trial Court Finds That Milwaukee’s Paid Sick Days Ordinance is Invalid

Julie Schwartz Weber July 1st, 2009

Last month, I blogged about the paid sick days ordinance in Milwaukee that had been enacted by voters last November and had been opposed by the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce (MMAC).  I shared then that the MMAC had challenged the legality of the ordinance via a lawsuit and that the trial court was going to rule on the matter soon.  Back then, we were still waiting for the trial court’s ruling on the matter.  Today, we know more.

On June 12th, Judge Thomas R. Cooper ruled that the paid sick day ordinance was invalidly enacted and unconstitutional.  More specifically, while the trial court upheld the part of the ordinance relating specifically to providing paid sick days to tend to the illness or preventative care of an employee or employee’s family member, he rejected the provision concerning time off for domestic violence victims to seek shelter or pursue legal action.  He ultimately concluded, “The provisions regarding domestic violence and sexual assault are not rationally related to the ordinance’s overall objective of protecting the public welfare, health, safety, and prosperity of the city”.

An appeal is likely.

A Better Balance has a more detailed analytical discussion about the trial court’s ruling available at its website.

What’s New From the Network?

Karen Corday June 19th, 2009

New from the Network:

New, free work and family content online:

Swine Flu and Work-Family

Julie Schwartz Weber May 13th, 2009

Of late, our country and the rest of the world are confronting the realities of living with the possible global pandemic of swine flu. In America alone, as of May 4th, more than 1000 confirmed or probable cases of swine flu have been reported from 44 states. While the public health and medical considerations are rightfully getting a lot of air time, there are a host of work-family issues that emerge from this situation, including:

  • Paid sick days:  The CDC, as well as state and local officials are asking workers and sick children suspected of contracting swine flu to stay home from work and school to prevent the possible spread of infection. However, with more than half of the country’s workers lacking a single paid sick day, and even more without time off to care for family members, including children, this request presents a potentially dire situation. Working families are forced to choose between adhering to a government public health mandate and staying home to care for their sick loved one or themselves or losing a paycheck — or even their job — by opting to stay home.Even if a particular employer or state has a paid sick days policy, or you happen to live in California or New Jersey, where paid family leave policies are being implemented, there are serious questions about whether these policies would provide coverage for healthy children whose school is closed due to a public health issue. Additionally, the federal Family and Medical Leave Act would likely not allow for even unpaid time off for most parents to care for children, as it mandates time off to care for a “seriously ill” child; here, most of the children staying home from school are well.
  • Child care:   Under the direction of the President and public health officials, some schools have been closed due to children or staff within the school having swine flu.  While most recently the CDC recommends not closing schools “unless there is a magnitude of faculty or student absenteeism that interferes with the school’s ability to function”, the fact that a possible pandemic did — and can again — lead to the closing of schools, triggers questions about child care. With most caregivers in the workplace, and few employers providing paid sick days and/or paid leave, how can parents take time off from work to tend to their children in the event of no school?

Paid Sick Days Legislation Is Introduced Across the Country in Dire Economic Times

Julie Schwartz Weber March 25th, 2009

The 2009 legislative sessions are well in progress, and paid sick days campaigns are active across the country in 15 states. Advocates against the bills argue that in this recession, passing this legislation is a very bad idea, since employers should not have to comply with additional mandates in an already strained and shrinking economy. However, advocates for paid sick days are arguing quite the opposite. Rather, they argue, such work protections are especially necessary in this recession to reduce job loss and absenteeism, and ensure economic sustainability and productivity for families and businesses.

Advocates for both sides are working hard in Connecticut and Minnesota, two of the fifteen states introducing such legislation and the two states that are closest to enacting a paid sick days law. Introduced on January 27th, Connecticut bill HB 6187 was approved on March 3rd by the Assembly’s Labor and Public Employees Committee with a vote of 8 to 3. HB 6187 would require employers with fifty or more employees to provide 6 paid sick days to their employees to use to address the employee’s or the employees’ child’s mental or physical illness or injury, to seek preventative medical care for the employee or employee’s child, or to deal with sexual assault or family violence issues.

Meanwhile, Minnesota’s 2009 paid sick days legislation was similarly approved by committee this month. HF 612, the Healthy Families, Healthy Workplace Act, is modeled after the San Francisco ordinance, the first paid sick days legislation passed by a locality in the country. HF 612 guarantees all workers paid sick time, regardless of the size of their employer, though large employers (those with greater than 10 employees) would provide for more paid sick days than smaller employers. In addition, while HF 612 provides paid time off for similar reasons included in the Connecticut bill (mental or physical illness or injury, preventative care, and treatment due to domestic abuse), it extends further than the Connecticut bill. In Minnesota, an employee can take paid sick days to care for herself, her child, and also care for the needs of a spouse, parent, grandparent, or other extended family member.

What’s New from the Sloan Network?

Karen Corday February 27th, 2009

New From the Network:

  • Please join us for our free Thought Leaders Conference Call: Be a Better Leader, Have a Richer Life: The Theory and Practice of Total Leadership. March 5th from 2-3 pm.
  • New Topic Page: Paid Sick Leave, advised by Vicky Lovell, PhD.
  • New Work and Family Encyclopedia entry: Gender Crossing, Work-Family Configurations, and Career Outcomes, by Caryn Medved, PhD.
  • Welcome, Mary Curlew! Mary recently joined the Network team as a Policy Research Associate. Working closely with Julie Schwartz Weber, our Policy Outreach Specialist, Mary will be tracking work-family legislation and researching work-family policy matters (such as paid sick days, paid family leave, flexible work schedules and telework). She will also help with drafting policy documents such as our Policy Briefing Series and new Mini-Briefs.
  • Thank you to all who have joined us at Twitter! Please note that you do not need to create a Twitter account to follow along with us. You may simply read the updates at http://twitter.com/SloanNetwork or follow along on the sidebar of the blog or the front page of the site.

Free Work and Family Content on the Web:

The Granite State Introduces a Trifecta of Work-Family Bills

Julie Schwartz Weber February 4th, 2009

Yesterday, three new work-family bills, part of the New Hampshire Women’s Lobby’s (NHWL) Work and Family Economic Sustainability Initiative (“Initiative”), were heard by the House Labor and Commerce Committees in New Hampshire.  The Initiative, developed by the NHWL, several New Hampshire legislators, including Representatives Mary Stuart Gile and Carla Skinder, and other allies, is comprised of the following bills:

  1. HB661, a family leave insurance program bill, which creates a family leave insurance program to allow parents to take time off to care for a newborn, newly adopted child, or to allow persons to care for a family member with a serious medical condition, including a wounded service member.  This bill only applies to employers with 50 or more employees, and establishes the benefit at up to 6 weeks of $250 per week.
  2. HB662, a paid sick days and safe leave bill, which requires employers of full-time and part-time employees to provide up to five days of sick or safe leave for their employees, and is intended to enable workers to seek medical care, psychological counseling for themselves and family, due to sickness or injury, domestic violence, or preventive medical care.  The bill may exempt small businesses with fewer than 10 employees.
  3. HB663, a right to request a flexible schedule law, which creates a process for employees to request flexibility in work schedules, including the number of hours required to work, the times when the employee is required to work, or the location where the employee is required to work.  This process is contingent on meeting specific conditions described in the application and further specifies employer’s criteria for granting or denying such requests.  The proposal only applies to employers with more than 15 employees.

The Initiative evolved from discussions that occurred among and between business, policy and academic folks at the First Annual New Hampshire Summit on Work and Family, held in October 2008.  It will be interesting to see if deliberate efforts to collaborate with business, researchers, and other advocates on these work-family matters, prior to filing the bills, will have an effect on whether these bills move.

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Balancing Sick Children and Work Schedules

Featured Guest Blogger January 26th, 2009

This post was contributed by Holly McCarthy, who writes on the subject of job search. She invites your feedback at hollymccarthy12 at gmail dot com. Please note that the views of our guest bloggers do not necessarily reflect the views of the Sloan Work and Family Research Network.

During the winter months, working parents can face a variety of situations regarding their children’s health. The cold weather helps speed up the process from the sniffles to a full-blown, debilitating cold. What do you do when the school nurse calls and needs you to come pick up your children?

Many employers realize that children are an employee’s top priority. As a parent, taking care of your children will always be the first concern. However, what’s a parent to do in these tough economic times when taking time off for your children could adversely affect your standing with the company?  What happens if there are other emergencies outside of your immediate family that may require your attention? There are a few things that can be done:

  1. Speak with the Boss
    Let your boss know what is going on and what you are doing to remedy the situation.  Offer to work from home and stay in touch while your child gets better—there are many ways to rectify the situation. Being proactive in situations like this usually works out in your favor; if you are willing to tackle the difficult conversations head-on, your boss will often be willing to talk things through with you.

    2.  

  2. Take Turns with Your Spouse
    This is a good idea if you feel like you are the go-to parent for emergency pick ups. Employers might be understanding for a while, but eventually tire of you being the one who is always called to come to the rescue. Work things out with your spouse so that they take turns with you. Naturally, some days you may need to swap this duty if something particularly important is going on at work.

    3.  

  3. Have an Emergency Back-Up Plan
    While this isn’t going to always be an option, some of us know people who either don’t work or work from home, possibly with a flexible schedule. Perhaps on the days when it is most difficult for you to get away, you can rely on these people to pick up your sick child and take them home.  If you are able to do this, planning for the next couple of days will be far easier and your day will not be truncated.  Finish up your work for the day, inform your employer of your forthcoming absence, and prepare to work from home if necessary.

Many workers have to deal with these kinds of situations all of the time, so know that you’re not alone. Work with your employer and spouse to keep the lines of communication open.

A New Policy Resource, Briefly

Julie Schwartz Weber January 7th, 2009

We are pleased to announce the launch of a new work-family policy resource: the Policy Mini-Brief Series. This resource has been created in response to hearing from legislators and policy advocates alike that sometimes a one-pager on a policy topic can be a very effective tool, especially when policy makers rarely have time for more.

Our first mini-brief focuses on Paid Sick Days, a policy area about which 13 states initiated legislation this last legislative session. In our first mini-brief, you will find a summary of important policy information on Paid Sick Days, including:

  • What Are Paid Sick Days?
  • How Do Paid Sick Days Affect Workers and Employers?
  • Recent Legislation
  • Did You Know?
  • Sites With More Information
  • Suggested Readings

While we are excited for policy makers and other folks to use and enjoy this innovative resource, we will continue to provide our Policy Briefing Series, which gives a more in depth look at specific work-family policy issues. For even more information, please see our Paid Sick Leave Topic Page.

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