Delaware employers need to offer paid sick time | Opinion

America is woefully behind when it comes to guaranteeing workers the benefits they deserve. As one example, America is the only modern nation that fails to guarantee its workers paid sick time. In fact,184 nations around the world guarantee workers paid sick time—but not America. According to the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), only 64% of private-sector American workers have paid sick time.

Higher-paid workers are much more likely to have paid sick time than low-income workers. Per the EPI, here are the percentages of private-sector workers per income bracket who have paid sick time: for the top 25% of income, 84%; for the next quarter of income, 75%; for the next quarter of income, 65%; and for the bottom quarter of income, 25%. Amongst the top 10% of earners, 87% have paid sick time while the same is true for just 27% of the bottom 10% of earners.

Women and minorities are much more likely to work at jobs that do not offer paid sick time. This fact is especially problematic given how often women are households’ primary breadwinners and bear the primary responsibility for raising children. Per the Delaware Office of Women’s Advancement & Advocacy, 82% of black mothers, 58% of white mothers, and 56% of Hispanic mothers are key family breadwinners. Delaware women represent 63% of the state’s lowest-paid workers and nearly one-third of Delaware mothers live in poverty. Other workers more likely to lack paid sick time include people of color, caregivers, military spouses, and seniors working during retirement.

Workers’ lack of sick time presents a serious public health issue. During the pandemic, we have learned not just how important sick time is, but that many of our frontline essential workers not only make the least money but often have little or no paid leave. Many of these employees come into contact with people, food, and product frequently on a daily basis—like retail workers, grocery store employees, and restaurant workers. For the good of public health, sick workers should stay home to prevent the spread of various diseases and other contagious health conditions including pandemic viruses and the flu.

But when no state in the nation offers a minimum wage that is a living wage, and over half of Americans live paycheck to paycheck and cannot cover a $1,000 emergency, many employees understandably report to work ill because they cannot afford to lose the income. Per a 2015 study by Norton et al, almost half of all restaurant-related foodborne illness outbreaks are attributed to sick employees. Per a 2016 National Partnership for Women & Families study, 70% of women in the fast-food industry reported going to work in the last year despite displaying symptoms of illness including coughing, sneezing, fever, diarrhea, and vomiting.

For these reasons, I have introduced House Bill 409, which will require Delaware employers to offer employees sick time. The legislation is modeled after that of fourteen other states and D.C. HB 409 considers the needs of businesses, allowing employers to cap the number of hours an employee can accrue in a year, carry over into the next year, or have at any given time; require that a worker be employed for at least ninety days before using sick time; and allowing smaller businesses to offer unpaid job-protected hours instead of paid hours. Employees may use accrued time for illness or medical appointments and also for “safety leave” to help cope with or escape domestic violence situations.

Guaranteed sick time is good not just for employees but also for businesses. States that have passed similar legislation have shown high support from employers and no negative economic effects as a result. Employers granting employees sick time report higher job satisfaction, loyalty, and morale. Productivity is higher and employee turnover is lower. Many large employers already offer sick time. Smaller businesses offering sick time better allows those businesses to attract and retain quality employees and to compete against larger employers for workers. Sick time allows sick employees to stay home when they are sick, preventing the spread of illness in workplaces—a spread that otherwise causes more workers to become ill and not report to work, reducing productivity.

It is time for Delaware to join the 184 other nations, fourteen American states, and D.C. that guarantee their workers sick time.

Eric Morrison is the state representative for the 27th District in the Newark/Bear/Glasgow area.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Delaware employers need to offer paid sick time