WASHINGTON-A recent report released by the Economic Policy Institute noted that more than one-third of U.S. employees don't get paid when they have to stay home from work due to illness. Adding to this, those without sick paid days tend to be lower-paid workers.
The study analyzed data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, and found that 38 percent of private-sector workers received no paid sick time. Eighty-six percent of the highest-paid workers in private industry had access to sick days, compared with 19 percent of the lowest-paid workers.
"When these workers get sick, they are either forced to go to work or stay home without pay and risk losing their job," study author Elise Gould was quoted in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. "Workers at the top of the wage scale were more than four times more likely to have sick days than workers at the bottom of the wage scale. … These low-income workers are the ones who can least afford to lose pay when they are sick."
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A study released in 2010 entitled "Raising the Global Floor: Dismantling the Myth that we Can't Afford Good Working Conditions for Everyone" pointed out that most nations provided workers with paid time off for illness, and suggested a law providing the same for U.S. workers. Such a benefit could both increase worker loyalty, not to mention allowing sick workers to stay home and not spread illnesses throughout the workplace.
However, the economists also realize such as law would create resistance among employers who might believe that there are huge risks for potential abuses surrounding a government-mandated sick-day policy.
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