Sec. 2. Findings

772 words·~4 min read·/bill/114/s/497/is/section-2

A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.

Congress makes the following findings: Working Americans need time to meet their own health care needs and to care for family members. The absence of paid sick time has forced Americans to make untenable choices between needed income and jobs on the one hand and caring for their own and their family’s health on the other. It is in the national interest to ensure that all Americans can care for their own health and the health of their families while prospering at work. Nearly 40 percent of the private sector workforce, and 11 percent of the public sector workforce, lacks paid sick time.

Another 4,000,000 theoretically have access to sick time, but have not been on the job long enough to use it. Millions more lack sick time they can use to care for a sick child or ill family member. A 2012 study published by BioMed Central Public Health of results of the National Health Interview Survey found that lack of paid sick leave is a barrier to receiving cancer screenings and preventive care. When parents cannot afford to miss work and must send children with contagious illnesses to child care centers or schools, infection can spread rapidly through child care centers and schools.

A 2012 study published in the American Journal of Public Health found that a lack of workplace policies like paid sick days contributed to an additional 5,000,000 cases of influenza-like illness during the H1N1 pandemic of 2009. A 2011 study by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research found that a universal paid sick days policy would reduce preventable visits to the emergency room and result in cost savings of $1,100,000,000 per year, including $500,000,000 in savings for public health insurance like Medicaid.

A 2009 study by the Center for Economic and Policy Research found that, of 22 countries with comparable economies, the United States was 1 of only 3 countries that did not provide any paid time off for workers with short-term illnesses. The American Productivity Audit completed in 2003 found that lost productivity due to illness costs $226,000,000,000 annually, and that 71 percent of that cost stems from presenteeism, the practice of employees coming to work despite illness. Studies in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, the Employee Benefit News, and the Harvard Business Review show that presenteeism is a larger productivity drain than either absenteeism or short-term disability.

Working while sick also increases a worker's probability of suffering an injury on the job. A 2012 study published by the American Journal of Public Health found that workers with access to paid sick leave were 28 percent less likely than workers without paid sick leave to suffer nonfatal occupational injuries. Workers’ access to paid sick time varies dramatically by wage level. For private sector workers— for workers in the lowest quartile of earners, 70 percent lack paid sick time; for workers in the next 2 quartiles, 36 and 27 percent, respectively, lack paid sick time; and even for workers in the highest quartile, 13 percent lack paid sick time.

For public sector workers— for workers in the lowest quartile of earners, 26 percent lack paid sick time; for workers in the next 2 quartiles, 7 percent lack paid sick time; and for workers in the highest quartile, 2 percent lack paid sick time. Nearly 1 in 3 American women report physical or sexual abuse by a husband or boyfriend at some point in their lives. Domestic violence also affects men. Women account for about 85 percent of the victims of domestic violence and men account for approximately 15 percent of the victims.

Therefore, women disproportionately need time off to care for their health or to find solutions, such as obtaining a restraining order or finding housing, to avoid or prevent physical or sexual abuse. Without paid sick days that can be used to address the effects of domestic violence, these victims are in grave danger of losing their jobs. One survey found that 96 percent of employed domestic violence victims experienced problems at work related to the violence. The Government Accountability Office similarly found that 24 to 52 percent of victims report losing a job due, at least in part, to domestic violence.

The loss of employment can be particularly devastating for victims of domestic violence, who often need economic security to ensure safety. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has estimated that domestic violence costs over $700,000,000 annually due to the victims' lost productivity in employment. Efforts to assist abused employees result in positive outcomes for employers as well as employees because employers can retain workers who might otherwise be compelled to leave.