Korey Capozza: With paid sick days, a wellspring of good

The Sacramento Bee, May 27, 2008

By Korey Capozza

Periodic illness is a fact of life. Yet a surprising number of California employers fail to acknowledge this truth.

Assembly Bill 2716, legislation that would extend paid sick days to all California workers, represents an opportunity to reconcile public policy with reality. If Assembly lawmakers pass AB 2716 this week, it will be a significant step forward for work-site wellness, women's health and overall public health.

AB 2716 is one of several paid sick days bills making their way through city and state legislative bodies this spring. Each has been supported by a broad coalition of working women, including groups such as MomsRising, the National Association of Working Women, and Parent Voices.

It's no mystery why this issue appeals to working women. Forty percent of all workers and 76 percent of low-income workers in California don't have access to paid time off when illness strikes. For working moms, lack of access to this basic benefit means having to choose among the competing demands of caring for loved ones, addressing their own health needs and earning needed money for their families.

When kids get sick (and they generally do six to 10 times a year) moms usually choose to stay home to care for them if they have the option – in fact, 40 percent of parental absenteeism from work is taken to care for an ill child. But making this choice is easier when parents don't have to give up needed wages to be with their children. One study found that parents with access to paid sick days are 5.2 times more likely to stay home with a sick child than those without access to the benefit. Importantly, some evidence suggests that providing parents with paid sick leave is a wise investment. Research shows that sick children recuperate faster when cared for by their parents, thus accelerating children's and parents' return to school and work.

In addition to caring for children, women provide more than 72 percent of all informal caregiving for aging parents and other relatives. When coupled with the demands of work and family, caregiving responsibilities may be especially overwhelming. Studies have consistently shown that as the level of caregiving burden increases, women's health deteriorates. And the more time a woman spends caring for others, the less likely she is to engage in illness-prevention practices that would protect her own health, such as exercising, getting enough sleep and taking prescribed medications. More than half of women caregivers have one or more chronic health conditions, compared with two-fifths of other women. Likewise, half of all caregivers experience depression, while 38 percent of other women do.

Under AB 2716, workers would be able to use accrued sick time to care for a spouse, child, family member or other designated person. As such, the bill could help alleviate the periodic time and financial burdens currently borne by caregivers when a loved one requires increased assistance. Ultimately, the respite that paid sick leave provides may lead to improved caregiver health and well-being.

Currently, the vast majority of higher-paid, salaried professionals enjoy paid sick leave while lower-income workers – those who face a disproportionate child care and informal caregiving burden – don't have access to this same benefit. AB 2716 would address this inequity and level the playing field so that all working women – not just those with higher incomes – could tend to their own health needs and those of their families without the fear of losing wages or their jobs. Ultimately, such a policy has the potential to improve long-term health outcomes.

As AB 2716 awaits a decision in the Assembly, it's important for legislators to consider the compelling benefits guaranteed paid sick days would have for public health and our working moms across the state.

 

About the writer:

Korey Capozza is a health policy analyst at the University of California, Berkeley's Center for Labor Research and Education. Her new report, "The Public Health Impacts of AB 2716," can be viewed at http://laborcenter.berkeley.edu.