Earned sick leave ordinances require employers to allow people to take time off for illness or injury. Working men and women can use this time to stay home or to see a doctor until they are healthy enough to work again, without concern for lost wages or job loss.
As we continue to fight COVID-19, an unprecedented pandemic, local leaders are partnering with CityHealth to put strong policies in place to slow the spread and safely reopen their communities.
CityHealth can provide:
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Information on how to conduct an evidence-based assessment of your city’s policy;
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Technical assistance on how leaders in your city can create stronger policies;
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Resources and tool kits to help your city learn what has worked well in other jurisdictions; and
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A library of legislative language from cities that lead on this policy area.
Earned Sick Leave
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Fights contagious diseases: People without earned sick days are 1.5 times more likely than those with earned sick days to report going to work with contagious illnesses like the flu or a viral infection.
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Protects businesses by reducing workplace illness: According to research published in the American Journal of Public Health, access to earned sick days reduces the spread of the flu in the workplace by nearly six percent.
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Increases productivity: Earned sick days help to decrease the productivity lost when employees work sick—known as “presenteeism”—which is estimated to cost our national economy $160 billion annually.
Other Resources
- Webinar: Combating COVID-19: Why Paid Sick Leave Matters to Controlling its Spread
- Want to Make the Nation More Prepared to Fight Contagious Diseases? Expand Paid Sick Leave, by Brian C. Castrucci and John Auerbach, Health Affairs
