Paid sick leave continues to gain traction across the United States as more states and municipalities recognize its importance for workers' health and economic stability. Today, nineteen states and Washington, D.C., have passed legislation requiring employers to provide paid sick time to their workers. This trend points to a strong and fundamental shift. Now workers don’t have to risk their health in order to pay their bills.
Only unpaid leave is guaranteed under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Consequently, the U.S. is alone in the world, aside from a few other countries, where paid leave is a common benefit. To Aleta Sprague of UCLA’s World Policy Analysis Center, this puts the United States in a hole compared to the rest of the world. Seventeen cities and four counties have followed the states’ leads by passing local ordinances that establish paid sick time. This data is the result of the National Partnership for Women and Families, a non-profit that advocates for paid leave.
Paid leave is a health benefit, to be sure, but it is an economic benefit too. It can increase productivity by decreasing “presenteeism,” when workers come to work sick and aren’t able to perform at their best. This was most recently seen during the COVID-19 pandemic, when all levels of government significantly increased attention to and interest in paid leave policies. At least seven states are currently considering implementing paid family and medical leave laws, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Hannah Jones’s story is an excellent example of the profound difference paid leave can make in someone’s life. Jones was battling a particularly aggressive form of breast cancer. Thanks to his support network, he was able to take every Friday off for months to get chemotherapy without losing income.
“I am cancer-free because I followed the treatment plan,” Jones shared.
Paid leave meant she could focus on her wellbeing without having to hurt her bottom line.
“We might have had to cash out our 401(k)s,” she said, emphasizing how critical paid leave was for her family’s finances.
“We might have had to sell our house if I hadn’t had that paycheck continue,” she further explained.
Jones’s experience underscores a critical advantage of paid leave: it prevents delays in medical care that can be detrimental to patient outcomes.
“I am an example of how paid (medical leave) makes a huge difference in the life and survival of a cancer patient,” she stated.
Internationally, the U.S. is an outlier. 95% of countries provide paid leave for personal health needs. There is increasing realization of its significance. In recent elections, voters in Missouri, Nebraska, and Alaska approved laws mandating paid sick leave, reflecting public support for such measures.
Yet, even with all of this progress, there continue to be major hurdles — especially for small businesses. The National Federation for Independent Business is spot on in sounding this alarm. Small businesses often have a hard time not having robust HR departments to navigate compliance with complex leave requirements.
“To expect small businesses to just absorb this cost is crazy,” commented Skye Nevada regarding the financial implications for small business owners.
Beth Milito also noted the administrative burden, stating:
“The paperwork is time, and time is money to a small business owner.”
