New IWPR Report: San Francisco Paid Sick Days Legislation Benefits Employers and Employees

Recent surveys conducted for the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR) find that both businesses and employees in San Francisco were generally in support of the nation’s first paid sick days legislation. According to a new report from IWPR, more than half of covered employees report some benefit due to the law, and one out of four workers reported that they were better able to care for their own and their families'  health. The report provides results from recent surveys of 727 employers and 1,194 employees working in San Francisco regarding the effects of the Paid Sick Leave Ordinance (PSLO).

Below is an excerpt from the report on some of its key findings.

For workers, survey results find:

• Despite the availability of either five or nine sick days under the PSLO, the typical worker with access used only three paid sick days during the previous year, and one-quarter of employees with access used zero paid sick days.
• More than half of San Francisco employees with access reported benefitting from the PSLO either because their employer became more supportive of usage, the number of sick days provided increased, or they were better able to care for themselves or family members.
• Parents with paid sick days were more than 20 percent less likely to send a child with a contagious disease to school than parents who did not have paid sick days.

For employers, survey results show:

• Employer profitability did not suffer. Six out of seven employers did not report any negative effect on profitability as a result of the PSLO.
• Most employers reported no difficulty providing sick days to their employees under the ordinance.
• Employers are supportive. Two-thirds of employers support the PSLO and one-third are “very supportive.”

To view the entire report please click here.