Feeling sick? Chances are you might go to work anyway. Two recent studies — one from the Economic Policy Institute and another from the Institute for Women’s Policy Research — show that more than a third of employees do not get paid for sick time they take. They also show that lower-income workers and minorities are getting less sick time than higher-paid employees.

The Economic Policy Institute study, which was released April 11 and analyzed data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, found 38 percent of private-sector workers receive no paid sick time. Yet, 86 percent of the highest-paid workers in private industry had access to sick days while only 19 percent of the lowest-paid workers did. This makes it more likely for employees to come to work sick or send sick children to school rather than staying at home and not getting paid, which is a lose-lose situation for everyone, many officials say.

In fact, some states, including California, are currently weighing the idea to require employers to pay for workers’ sick leave. “Nobody wins when workers show up to work sick,” Assemblywoman Fiona Ma, D.-San Francisco, said when she introduced a California bill in February. “The lack of paid sick days is a public health concern. It harms children and families and decreases productivity at work.”