June 2009 – National Paid Sick Days HIA Released

Researchers at Human Impact Partners and the San Francisco Department of Public Health are jointly releasing a health impact assessment (HIA) of the Healthy Families Act, a national law which proposes to let employees at firms with at least 15 employees earn up to seven paid sick days a year. The assessment – “A Health Impact Assessment of the Healthy Families Act of 2009” – finds that the Healthy Families Act would have a profoundly positive effect on public and individual health.

The HIA finds that more than one-third of flu cases are transmitted at schools and workplaces, and that guaranteed paid sick days would reduce the spread of pandemic and seasonal flu by enabling workers to comply with public health advice if they or their family members show signs of illness. Infected workers staying home could reduce the spread of a pandemic flu virus by up to 34 percent, according to the study. Without preventative strategies like paid sick days, a serious flu outbreak could kill more than two million people.

Paid sick days will also protect the public from diseases carried by sick restaurant workers, more than 85 percent of whom cannot take paid time off from work when ill. From 2003 to 2007, nearly 122,000 people fell ill from foodborne disease outbreaks, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Another 18,030 illnesses in institutional and workplace settings involved an infected food-handler, the study says.

Nearly half of private-sector workers (48 percent) do not have access to paid, job-protected sick days. Seventy-nine percent of low-income workers—the majority of whom are women—do not have a single paid sick day. For them, staying home when sick means going without pay and perhaps risking their jobs. These low-income workers often have jobs with frequent contact with the public. If they are forced to come to work sick, they risk infecting others. If they stay home to recover or care for a sick child, they lose much-needed wages and face possible termination.

The HIA of the Healthy Families Act was conducted by Human Impact Partners, a non-profit project of the Tides Center, and the San Francisco Department of Public Health. The work was commissioned by the National Partnership for Women & Families and funded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation.

The summary and full report are available here:

Summary - A Health Impact Assessment of the Healthy Families Act of 2009: Summary of Findings

The full report: A Health Impact Assessment of the Healthy Families Act of 2009

 

On June 11, 2009, Dr. Rajiv Bhatia presented testimony on the public health impacts of the Healthy Families Act to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Education and Labor Hearing.

APRIL 2009 – New Report of Ongoing Research on Paid Sick Days and Health

Building on the July 2008 paid sick days health impact assessment (see below), SFDPH and HIP are releasing a new report titled “Health Impacts of the California Healthy Families, Healthy Workplaces Act of 2008: A Report on Ongoing Research.” This research reflects additional qualitative and quantitative research conducted in response to outstanding research questions for the 2008 paid sick days HIA. The report provides further evidence on the potential positive impacts of paid sick days on the health of California populations and communities.

The report consists of three core components:

Summary of Communicable Disease Outbreaks in California – Using California Department of Public Health data, we describe the impact of ill workers on communicable disease outbreaks in California.

Summary of Home Care Worker Focus Group – describes working conditions and the need for paid sick days among home care workers in California—specifically, In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) providers.

Summary of National Healthy Interview Survey Analysis – a report on an analysis of paid sick days and health care utilization data using the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS).

JULY 2008 – California Paid Sick Days Health Impact Assessment

In the spring and summer of 2008, Human Impact Partners (HIP) and researchers at SFDPH conducted a health impact assessment (HIA) of the Healthy Families, Healthy Workplaces Act of 2008 (AB 2716) that aimed to document the relationship of paid sick days to individual and community level health. Currently, almost 40 percent of California's workforce, more than 5 million workers, do not have the right to take paid time off from work when they are sick. The HIA mobilized and synthesized evidence from diverse sources to make a judgment of the future health impacts of the proposed California paid sick days statute.

The report, A Health Impact Assessment of the California Healthy Families, Healthy Workplaces Act of 2008 finds that "substantial evidence indicates that the law would have significant positive public health impacts for workers and for all Californians." The study further documents evidence showing that guaranteed paid sick days for all workers would help:

Reduce the spread of flu;

Protect the public from diseases carried by sick workers in restaurants and in nursing homes;

Enable workers to stay home when they need to care for a sick dependent; and

Prevent hunger and homelessness among low-income workers with severe illnesses.

The report also finds that workers with the greatest needs for paid sick days, such as those whose children have asthma or other chronic diseases or are low-wage workers, are those that frequently do not have the benefit.

The HIA was based on the following sources of information:

Review of available peer-reviewed and empirical research.

Analysis of statistics on the availability and utilization of paid sick days and on the burden of illness in California that may be modified by paid sick days legislation.

Analysis of data from the California Work and Health Survey.

Focus groups and survey of workers in California.

Interviews with public health officials and other experts.

As currently drafted, the AB 2716 entitles an employee who works in California for seven or more days in a calendar year to accrue paid sick time at a rate of no less than one hour of paid sick time for every 30 hours worked up to a maximum of 9 days per year. After 90 days of employment, an employee would be entitled to use accrued sick time for diagnosis, care, or treatment of health conditions of the employee or an employee’s family member, or for leave related to domestic violence or sexual assault. An employer would be required to meet posting and record-keeping requirements and would be prohibited from discriminating or retaliating against an employee who requests paid sick time. The bill would not apply to employees covered by a collective bargaining agreement that provides for paid sick leave. The California Department of Industrial Relations would administer and enforce these requirements.

At the time of this HIA, AB 2716 had passed out of the California State Assembly and is currently being considered by the California State Senate. If passed by the Senate, the bill will require the approval of the Governor to become law.

A summary and the 2008 report are available here:

Summary - A Health Impact Assessment of the California Healthy Families, Healthy Workplaces Act of 2008

The full report: Health Impact Assessment of the California Healthy Families, Healthy Workplaces Act of 2008

 

On April 9, 2008, Dr. Rajiv Bhatia presented testimony to the California Assembly Labor Committee on the public health impacts of the Healthy Families, Healthy Workplaces Act of 2008 (AB 2716).

For information on the California paid sick days campaign, visit: http://www.paidsickdaysca.org/

 

The July 30, 2008 release of the report was covered by the following news outlets:

Marketplace

San Francisco Chronicle

KPIX CBS 5 News

Orange County Register

Inside Bay Area

Paid Sick Days in San Francisco

Proposition F, the San Francisco Paid Sick Leave Ordinance, was adopted by San Francisco voters on November 7, 2006, with 61% of voters voting in favor of the measure. Proposition F is codified in Chapter 12W of the San Francisco Administrative Code. Prior to the passage of Proposition F, 23.3% of San Francisco workers (n = 115,791) did not have paid sick leave benefits. The Ordinance required that beginning February 5, 2007, all employers must provide paid sick leave to each employee who performs work in San Francisco.

For every 30 hours worked, an employee accrues one hour of paid sick leave. For employees of employers for which fewer than 10 persons work for compensation during a given week, there is a cap of 40 hours (5 days) of accrued paid sick leave. For employees of other employers, there is a cap of 72 hours (9 days) of accrued paid sick leave. The accrued paid sick leave caps are for a given point in time. They are not annual caps. Accrued paid sick leave does not expire; it carries over from year-to-year. There is no cap on how much paid sick leave an employee may use in a year. Paid sick leave can be used when the employee is ill or injured or for the purpose of receiving medical care, treatment, or diagnosis; and to aid or care for a family member or designated person when that person is ill, injured, or receiving medical care, treatment, or diagnosis.

In July 2006, during the Prop F adoption process, SFDPH provided testimony to San Francisco Board of Supervisors on the Potential benefits of a mandatory sick leave benefit for San Francisco workers.

The SF Office of Labor Standards Enforcement provides more information about San Francisco’s Paid Sick Leave Ordinance