Paid Sick Leave for Preventive Health Care and Healthy Lives

The Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) highlighted some important statistics on the relationship between paid sick leave and preventive health care.

Since the Affordable Care Act (ACA) took effect in 2010, health care access has opened up to numerous Americans, including low-income earners who were previously uninsured and women seeking preventive care. Unfortunately, too many Americans simply do not have the time to actually receive these services.

More than 40 million workers in the U.S. (39 percent) have no paid sick days and nearly 95 million workers (87 percent) have no paid family leave. 80 percent of low-wage workers earning $15,000 or less per year have no paid sick days.

Work protections such as paid sick leave and paid family and medical leave are crucial for preventive health care, which in turn is key for healthy and safe lives. Routine health checkups and screenings can help prevent or detect early on diseases and other health problems, but a 2015 study found that women without paid sick leave were 12 percent less likely to undergo breast cancer screening than women with paid sick leave.

A similar trend was found with attention to prenatal care. Additionally, about half of Americans who qualify for unpaid job protected leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) defer or choose to forgo care altogether because the financial cost of taking unpaid time off is too great.

21 jurisdictions have now passed earned sick days laws, but the need for such minimum standards continues.

MCC Releases "Price of Being a Woman" Report

Maternity Care Coaltion's (MCC) report, which compares insurance options in cities across Pennsylvania, demonstrates that women face significant barriers and discriminatory practices when buying health insurance in the individual insurance market.

The study revealed that individual market health plans largely exclude vital maternity coverage for women. Findings showed that only 20% of "best-selling" individual insurance plans available on www.eHealthInsurance.com, a leading online source for insurance sales, offer maternity coverage in Pennsylvania.

Read the Full Report

The Numbers Behind the Philly Fight for Paid Sick Days

Restaurant Opportunity Center

Behind the Kitchen Door, released two weeks ago by Philly ROC, is a 65-page report conducted by talking to restaurant workers and employers and using the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics to put local working conditions into perspective.

The information reflects a tone which argues restaurant workers should be provided paid sick days and a higher tipped minimum wage, among other things, using statistics regarding employees working sick because they don’t earn enough to take time off.

Read the Full Article
Read the ROC Report

University of Michigan Poll Shows Need for Paid Sick Days

Read the Full Report

The University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health recently asked parents who have children younger than six years old in child care about the impact of child care illness on their families.

In the poll, almost one-half of parents with young children in child care indicated that they've missed work in the last year to care for sick kids, and one-quarter missed work three or more times. 33 percent of parents were concerned about losing pay or jobs because of missing work for sick kids, 31 percent said they don't have enough paid leave to cover the days they need for sick children.

Tell Philadelphia City Council support Paid Sick Days!

Philly Restaurant Industry Wages Continue to Fall: Workers Faced with No Choice

Lack of health care, paid sick time and low morale push employees to the brink.

“Diana A.” is a restaurant worker in Philadelphia like hundreds of others.

And like hundreds of other restaurant workers, Diana has no access to paid sick time.  92.8% of restaurant workers cannot earn sick time, which is above the national average. Fewer have access to employer-sponsored health benefits. With real wages decreasing and cost-of-living increasing, many restaurant workers are faced with no choice but to work sick or face being terminated if they do need to call in sick.

 Read Diana’s Story by clicking the link below:

http://weeklypress.com/phillys-restaurant-industry-is-hot-but-its-jobs-are-not-report-says-p3359-1.htm

Paid Sick Days Lower Healthcare Costs

From our friends at IWPR

Paid Sick Days and Health: Cost Savings from Reduced Emergency Department Visits finds that universal access to paid sick days would save $1 billion annually. Currently, the United States spends approximately $47 billion annually on emergency department services and 44 million Americans lack access to paid sick days.

Cost savings would be realized by shifting the treatment of some preventable illnesses from emergency departments to less expensive doctor's offices, clinics, and hospital outpatient settings. Currently, approximately $500 million of these preventable costs are covered by taxpayer-funded public health care for children, elders, veterans and low-income families, including Medicare, Medicaid, the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), and Veterans Affairs services. The remainder of preventable emergency department costs are accrued to individuals who pay out of pocket for health care and to insurance companies and their customers.

After controlling for various characteristics, including health insurance status, IWPR's analyses reveal that paid sick days are associated with better self-reported health, fewer delays in medical care, and fewer emergency department visits for adults and their children.

Tell Mayor Nutter How You Feel About Sick Days

On October 13, City Council members passed a bill introduced by Councilman Wilson Goode, Jr., that amends the 21st Century Minimum Wage and Benefits Act to ensure all workers whose employers contract with the city or receive public subsidies can earn paid sick days. This bill ensures that city tax dollars only fund jobs that support public health, families, and the community.

The bill now goes to the Mayor's desk, and he needs to hear from you!

Please take a moment to send a letter to the Mayor telling him your feelings about paid sick days.

Contagion: Not Just a Movie

Have you seen the preview for Contagion – the new blockbuster film about a global flu pandemic?

What’s most frightening about this star-studded film is that flu epidemics are real, and they can spread quickly – especially in the Philadelphia, where over 200,000 hard hard-working people without paid sick days are forced to choose between their financial security and their health when they get sick. During the recent H1N1 outbreak, seven million of the people caught the flu from their co-workers. Less serious flus and colds can also disrupt our lives.

Please take a moment to send this video to City Council so that they can stop the real contagion in Philadelphia.

Let’s Show City Council We Still Need Paid Sick Days!

It has been a long and somewhat crazy ride for the Coalition for Healthy Families and Workplaces but we have a great success – Philadelphia’s City Council passed the Earned Sick Days Bill! Our amazing and hard fought victory was unfortunately dashed by the Mayor’s veto of the bill- but that does not mean the fight is over.

Join us to welcome City Council back after their summer recess and show them that we are still fighting for paid sick days for Philadelphia’s workers.

WHAT: Welcome Back City Council

WHEN: September 8th at 9:00

WHERE: Philadelphia City Hall’s 4th Floor Hallway

Register to Attend

We will be welcoming City Council back by reminding them that Philadelphia is not only returning to work and school, but, without sick days, they are returning to environments where germs can spread quickly.

Please bring signs and write letters to your members of City Council urging them to remember that Philadelphians need and deserve paid sick days.

MomsRising Paid Sick Days Blog Carnival

Thank you to MomsRising who put together a Blog Carnival focusing on the need for paid sick days in Philadelphia. Some of the authors include Coalition partners, national experts, and moms. See a list of the blog posts below.

An Apple A Day Isn’t Enough: Blog-A-Thon For Philadelphia’s Earned Sick Days Law, by Ruth Martin, MomsRising. “Planning, preparation, prevention – it all comes with the territory of being a mom. We try to head off as many accidents and illnesses as we can; we child-proof, we carry hand sanitizer, and we teach our kids to wash their hands. But there is a big hole in our safety net: Two out of five – that’s 41% – of Philadelphia employees are not allowed by their employers to earn even a single paid sick day to care for their own health and thousands more are unable to take a paid day to care for a sick child or parent.”

In the City of Brotherly and Sisterly Love, A Chance to Stand Up For Working Families, by Vicki Shabo, National Partnership for Women and Families. “With more than 210,000 working people in Philadelphia lacking access to paid sick days, approving a law to establish a standard should be common sense for the City Council.”

Bad Economics Meet Paid Sick Days in Philadelphia, by Robert Drago, Institute for Women’s Policy Research. “A new study for the National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB) estimates that Philadelphia’s proposed paid sick days legislation would cost employers between $350 million and $752 million annually. Both the factual basis and the assumptions underlying this study are seriously flawed.”

Support Paid Sick Days In Philadelphia! by Angie Norris, Studio 34 Yoga. A Philadelphia nurse who’s also a small business owner shares her perspective on providing paid sick days. Thank you to Angie for providing earned sick time!

In Philadelphia, A Healthy Workforce and a Healthy Business Environment Go Together, by Amy Traub, Demos. “In an era of high unemployment, good policymaking also requires that we answer another question: how would guaranteeing all working people in Philadelphia the right to earn paid sick leave impact the city’s economy?”

Philadelphians deserve right to time off when sick, by Kathy Black, president of the Coalition of Labor Union Women, Philadelphia chapter. “Paid sick days is a policy that’s good for workers, good for families and good for our community. And businesses in other cities that have a paid sick day law say the law has no negative impact on profitability – by a measure of 6 to 1!”

Apocalypse Never: Earned Sick Days Provide Benefit, Not Doom, by Jake Blumgart. “Rather than just making fretful predictions, we should look at empirical evidence gathered from successfully implemented paid sick leave bills.”

This boss doesn’t mind paid sick days, by Dewetta Logan. The owner of a small childcare center in West Philly shares her experience in providing earned sick time. And– BIG thank you to Dewetta for protecting your employees and the kids you all care for by providing earned sick time!

Economists say paid sick days will help Philadelphia make progress toward economic recovery, by Marianne Bellesorte

Letter to the Editor: Workers Need the Opportunity to Earn Sick Days, by Diane Mohney. Certified school nurse offers her 29 years of wisdom and experience in explaining the need for sick days. Scroll all the way to the end to check it out.

Faith leaders sign letter in support of earned sick days in Philadelphia, by Kate Scully. Faith leaders sign a letter to Mayor Nutter in support of providing all workers in Philadelphia with the opportunity to earn paid sick days.

Philadelphia Business Journal: Sick Days for Healthy Recovery, by Eileen Appelbaum and Lonnie Golden. “Mandating paid sick days is one policy that will help employers keep workers in jobs.” Subscribers can read the entire article.

Every Parent wants to protect their children, by Barbara Lovelace of north Philadelphia. Barbara shares the agonizing decision her daughter had to make: Stay by Barbara’s side as she lay in the hospital’s Intensive Care Unit, or return to her job as a cashier worrying about whether her mother would pass away while she was on the job.

Status Update: I support paid sick days!, by Marianne Bellesorte. If you can’t make it to City Hall, join our virtual Facebook rally to support earned sick time in Philly!

Support Paid Sick Days For Philadelphia Families, by Jennifer at PhillyFun4Kids.We take a moment out of bringing you Philly’s best family friendly free or mostly free fun to think about this…In Philadelphia over 40% of workers do not have the ability to earn any paid sick days.

Mothers Gather at Childspace to Support Earned Sick Days, by Zach Subar. Power of one(sies) decorated with messages like “Moms rock!” also tell the story of why paid sick days are a family friendly policy.

Using NFIB Economist’s Estimates on Paid Sick Days: It’s Not Cricket, by Steve Herzenberg.  Herzenberg shows that even if readers oppose paid sick days, they shouldn’t use the Dunkelberg estimates because, well, “It’s not cricket.” The estimates are so transparently inflated that folks who live in a fact-based world shouldn’t use them.

Philadelphia Paid Sick Days Law Would Allow Workers to Take Care of Their Chronic Conditions, by Andrea Lindemann.  In Philadelphia, there’s a disconnect between public health initiatives and access to care. The reason? Lack of paid time off to get to the doctor to care for chronic conditions. 

It’s time now for workers to be able to earn paid sick days in Philly and across the country, by Linda Meric.   Millions of Americans working without paid sick days face the impossible choice between caring for their health and that of their family, and keeping their paycheck or job. At a time when many families are worried about their financial security, the threat of losing a job or needed wages forces many workers to go to work even though they are ill.

Rooting for Passage of Paid Sick Days in Philadelphia, by Ellen Bravo.  Every night a second grade teacher washes the top cover of her reading couch because some child has had to come to class with the flu rather than staying home alone.

Wisconsin Courts Rule in Favor of Paid Sick Days as Philadelphia Effort Heats Up

"I have witnessed food workers who have gone to work with viral hepatitis infecting salad bars, workers coughing with multi-drug resistant tuberculosis, and people going to work with flu like symptoms and fever."
- Dr. Walter Tsou, former Health Commissioner, City of Philadelphia

"Even if I have to use my last breath to get this bill passed, I will do it."
- Barbara Lovelace, Philadelphia resident

PHILADELPHIA -As a great victory for paid sick days in Milwaukee was announced by the courts today, Philadelphia City Council heard stories that should give everyone pause, even if they already have sick days. During today's public comment period, Philadelphians told Council of employees spreading disease to others, of lying alone in intensive care because their daughter could not take off work, and of the overwhelming public support for earned sick days.

"I have witnessed food workers who have gone to work with viral hepatitis infecting salad bars,workers coughing with multi-drug resistant tuberculosis, and people going to work with flu like symptoms and fever." said Dr. Walter Tsou, former Health Commissioner of the City of Philadelphia. "This legislation recognizes that sometimes it is in the best interest of society for workers to stay home. It is also in the interest of society to have a healthy and productive workforce."

For Barbara Lovelace, it was certainly in her best interest for her daughter to have been home when Barbara collapsed in the middle of the street. After going to the hospital and being diagnosed with a heart attack, Barbara entered the intensive care unit. No one knew if Barbara would survive her ordeal - but nevertheless, her daughter was forced to go to work while her mother was in the ICU, or risk losing her job. Barbara is now facing more surgery for her heart, and the potential diagnosis of breast cancer. But, as she told City Council today, "Even if I have to use my last breath to get this bill passed, I will do it."

Across town, church leaders held a briefing for local pastors in the Earned Sick Days bill. Pastors met today to discuss the bill and begin planning for a Paid Sick Days in the Pulpit event in April.

Polls also show strong public support for sick days. "Sick leave policies are supported by the overwhelming majority of Americans," said Dr. Jerry Jacobs, a professor of Sociology at the University of Pennsylvania, who also delivered comments today. "One national poll showed that 89 percent of voters -- 83 percent of Republicans and 94 percent of Democrats - favor paid sick days as a basic employment standard."

Studies in other cities show that both businesses and employees benefit from earned sick days policies. Businesses save money from higher productivity and lower turnover, and workers use paid sick leave responsibly and often do not use all of the time offered to them. A study last month of San Francisco's paid sick days law shows many business concerns about job loss were unfounded, with six in seven employers saying that paid sick days have had no negative effect on profitability and two-thirds of employers surveyed supporting the law.

Promoting Healthy Families and Workplaces Act (Bill 080474) is a bill that would allow workers the opportunity to earn up to nine days of sick time per year. The bill could affect up to 200,000 workers in Philadelphia who do not have access to paid sick days.

The New York Times: The Doctor Is In (but Shouldn’t Be)

When workers do not have the opportunity to earn paid sick days many decide to go to work despite being sick rather than lose their pay or possibly their job. Unfortunately, many workers without paid sick days are those that work with vulnerable populations (child care workers) and those that handle our food (cooks and servers). Even for those workers who have paid sick days many are discouraged from taking any time off to care for themselves or a loved one. Recently in the New York Times a doctor wrote about going to work sick and how that impacted himself, his co-workers, and his patients.

Below is an excerpt of the article:

One winter toward the end of my training, I came down with a cold. At first, the constant coughing and runny nose made me miserable; then they became tiring. To decrease the chances of spreading my germs, I had to tie on a mask every time I came into contact with patients, wash my hands so frequently my skin became raw and wipe down the phone receivers with alcohol when I answered a page. Unable to scratch, wipe or blow in the operating room without contaminating my hands, I learned that for a surgeon with a runny nose, there are no palatable options for the uncontrollable nasal effluvium; I had to wear two masks every time I scrubbed up for a case.

Within days of the onset of my symptoms, other clinicians on my team were felled with the same. For weeks, we passed the cold back and forth in what became a viral game of hot potato. Even if I felt well enough one day to breathe through my nose, taste the nursing station holiday cookies and laugh without spiraling into a coughing fit, I knew that it would be only a matter of days, if not hours, before I would become sick again, invariably with a virus that had mutated just enough in the interim to dodge any immunity built up during the last go-around.

For the rest of the article click here.

From DMI's Amy Traub: "A Race Between Philly and NYC on Paid Sick Leave?"

On Tuesday, October 12, PathWays PA and the Coalition for Healthy Families and Workplaces held a press conference to draw attention to a new report from the Drum Major Institute showing the effect earned sick days will likely have on Pennsylvania.  Below is a quote from an article in The Huffington Post:

Yet Philly may be moving faster to address a problem that's pressing in both cities. The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that a hearing on paid sick time is expected in Philadelphia this fall. Meanwhile, in New York, the City Council has held multiple hearings, but it's unclear when the bill will come to the floor for a vote.

Councilman William Greenlee, co-sponsor of the Philadelphia bill, offered a sports analogy, insisting that Philadelphia would prove its policy leadership on paid sick time just as the Phillies would surely trounce the Yankees.

To read the full article, visit The Huffington Post.

Please also take a moment to read some of the other news from the DMI report, including articles in the Inquirer and The Philadelphia Business Journal.  You can also listen to a radio feed about the report on the PathWays PA website.

Op-Ed in Patriot News on the Need for Earned Sick Time

"Paid sick days legislation makes sense for all businesses"

by Carol Goertzel, President/CEO of PathWays PA

When Tiffany Lomax hears her son’s breath get shorter, she knows what is coming next.

Her chest constricts in sympathy with him as he begins to cough and wheeze, and together they fight for control over his asthma. But Tiffany can now care for her son with a little more peace of mind. She knows that, if needed, she can get him to the doctor or hospital without risking her job — all because she earns paid sick days. 

To read the whole story, please visit the Patriot-News website, and be sure to add your comments to the discussion!

Written Testimony from August 17, 2010 Hearing on Earned Sick Time

For those of you interested in reading the testimony from the hearing, you can find it all right here!

Carol Goertzel, President/CEO, PathWays PA
E---------------, Affected Worker
Department of Health
Robert Drago, Ph. D., Research Director, Institute for Women's Policy Research
Rebecca Foley, Director of Education & Advocacy Initiatives, WOMEN'S WAY
Kate Etherington, Senior Program Director, Physicians for Social Responsibility
Sam Denisco, Director of Government Affairs, PA Chamber of Business and Industry
Carol Tracy, Executive Director, Women's Law Project

Testimony submitted for the record:
Richard Bloomingdale, President, Pennsylvania AFL-CIO
Donna Levitt, Manager, Office of Labor Standards Enforcement (San Francisco)
Dr. James Plumb, Professor, Thomas Jefferson University
K.C. Moylan, Chief Operation Officer, Pei Wei Asian Diner, Inc.
Susan Kavchok, Childspace Management Group, Inc.

What Good is Health Care Reform Without Paid Sick Days?

Recently Raising Women’s Voices, a national initiative working to make sure women’s voices are heard in the health reform debate, wrote a blog post that discussed the need of paid sick days and paid family leave.
Without workplace flexibility, healthcare reform will not have the full impact desired. Without paid sick days, individuals are not going to be able to take the time off work in order to go to the doctor for themselves or for their children. This will continue the cycle of individuals not getting the preventive care they need and using the emergency room. According to a recent survey, those without paid sick days are twice as likely compared to those with paid sick days to use the emergency room for themselves or a family member because they were unable to take off work to seek medical care.

Below is an excerpt from the blog post:

What good is having health coverage if we can’t get time off from work to go to the doctor, recover from illness or take our kids to the doctor? For these reasons it is important for all women to have paid sick days and paid family leave.

Women are the most likely to work in an industry that does not offer paid sick or paid family leave. They are also most likely to be the ones responsible for caring for their sick child or family member. Therefore, for women in particular, the legislation would offer some important benefits.

To learn more please read It’s About Time: The Public Health Imperative for Paid Sick Days and Paid Family Leave. We would like to thank Raising Women’s Voices for drawing attention to this important issue and its relation to health care.