Research Shows Paid Sick Days Policy Likely to Have a Positive Impact on Public Health
California Chronicle, May 09, 2008
Labor Desk
As the LA City Council votes on whether to support AB 2716, California´s proposed paid sick days legislation, UC Berkeley report analyzes the legislation´s potential to reduce the transmission of illnesses such as seasonal influenza and norovirus.
Berkeley, CA – AB 2716, a bill that would extend paid sick days leave to all workers in California, will likely have a positive impact on public health, according to a new report released today by the UC Berkeley Center for Labor Research and Education. AB 2716, the Healthy Families, Healthy Workplaces Act, was introduced by Assemblywoman Fiona Ma in February and passed by the Assembly Labor and Employment and Judiciary Committees in April.
The Los Angeles City Council is expected to vote today on a resolution introduced by Councilmember Richard Alarcon that would put the city on record as supporting AB 2716. Currently forty percent of all California workers and 76% of low-wage workers have jobs that don´t provide any paid sick days.
"AB 2716 encourages adherence to federally-recommended infection control practices by enabling all workers – and not just salaried professionals – to take time off to recover from illness or care for an ill family member," said Korey Capozza, a health policy analyst at UC Berkeley and the author of the new report, "The Public Health Impacts of AB 2716."
According to the UC Berkeley report, evidence from the research literature on paid sick days suggests:
AB 2716 could reduce the transmission of foodborne illness, decrease disease outbreaks in nursing homes, reduce the spread of infections in childcare settings and mitigate the transmission of seasonal influenza.
AB 2716 could positively influence workers´ decisions to see a doctor, parents´ decisions to stay home and care for a sick child and patients´ decisions about treatment choices.
AB 2716 has the potential to improve patient compliance with preventive health-care guidelines and chronic care management, and thus to reduce health-care spending over the long term.
To download "The Public Health Impacts of AB 2716," go to http://laborcenter.berkeley.edu.
Poll Shows California Voters Support Paid Sick Days Law
Three in four (73 percent) California voters are in favor of a law allowing all workers to earn paid sick days, according to a statewide survey released on August 5, 2008. The poll was conducted by the Field Research Corporation for the California Center for Research on Women and Families (CCRWF), a program of the nonprofit Public Health Institute. Support for such a law crosses party lines and includes 85 percent of Democrats, 75 percent of non-partisans and 56 percent of Republicans.
CA Paid Sick Days Bill Will Boost Public Health: New Report
A research report released on July 30, 2008 shows that the proposed California paid sick days legislation will have significant positive public health impacts. The report entitled A Health Impact Assessment of the California Healthy Families, Healthy Workplaces Act of 2008 was produced by Human Impact Partners and researchers at the San Francisco Department of Health.
» Report Summary 
» Full Report
Valuing Good Health in California: The Costs and Benefits of the Healthy Families, Healthy Workplaces Act of 2008
Executive Summary
Full Report
Testimony on the Healthy Families, Healthy Workplaces Act
Rajiv Bhatia, MD, MPH
Online Rally for Healthy Families
Call on Congress to support paid sick days! Share your own story about why paid sick days are important to you and your family!
August 5, 2008
POLL SHOWS CALIFORNIA VOTERS SUPPORT PAID SICK DAYS LAW
Findings follow new research showing positive public health benefits of AB 2716