Rise in Paid Sick Leave Laws Demands Employer Attention and Action

When employees show up to work with a cold or flu, they open the door to all sorts of issues. All the coughing and sniffling is not only unpleasant and disruptive for other workers, but a sick employee can also transmit viruses to others and create a bigger problem.

While it’s certainly smarter and healthier for sick employees to stay home, what if they feel like they can’t afford to miss work? More and more state and local legislators are recognizing this predicament and issuing paid sick leave laws with special provisions for sick employees. Further still, the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) was recently expanded to address the urgent employment concerns surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.

Working While Sick

Did you know that one in four American workers has admitted to going to work when sick, according to an NSF International Flu Survey? The survey also revealed that:

• 25% of American workers go to work when sick because their boss expects them to come in no matter what
• Men (33%) are nearly twice as likely as women (17%) to go to work when sick
• 13% of working Americans believe co-workers come to work sick because they don’t trust their colleagues to do the job while they are out

Although paid sick leave can’t address every finding in this survey, it can certainly minimize employees “pushing through” an illness just because they’re afraid of losing income. Beyond that, the advantages of paid sick leave include:

• A healthier workplace that reduces the spread of disease
• Higher productivity
• A better work-life balance
• Possibly lowering healthcare costs by preventing illnesses from escalating

In recent years, more states and cities have enacted their own paid sick leave laws that are more generous than federal law.

As of late March 2020, 12 states, the District of Columbia and 20 other jurisdictions provide paid sick days, protecting an estimated 46 million private sector workers. The states are: Arizona, Connecticut, California, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington. They permit workers to earn paid sick days to recover from illness, seek medical care, or for a sick family member.

The cities and counties offering similar provisions include: San Francisco, Oakland, Emeryville, Los Angeles, Berkeley, Santa Monica and San Diego (CA); New York City, and Westchester County (NY); Seattle and Tacoma (WA); Philadelphia and Pittsburgh (PA); Montgomery County (MD); Chicago and Cook County (IL); St. Paul, Minneapolis and Duluth (MN); and Dallas (TX).

Federal Response to COVID-19

Until the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States, there were no federal laws requiring employers to provide paid leave for employees. But in the face of a growing health and safety crisis, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) was passed, affecting all private employers with fewer than 500 employees as well as public employers. Until December 31, 2020, the law provides 80 hours of paid leave for eligible full-time employees who are:

• Subject to a federal, state or local quarantine or isolation order related to COVID-19
• Advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine due to COVID-19 concerns
• Experiencing COVID-19 symptoms and seeking medical diagnosis
• Caring for an individual subject to a federal, state or local quarantine or isolation order or advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine due to COVID-19 concerns
• Caring for the employee’s child if the child’s school or place of care is closed due to COVID-19 related reasons
• Experiencing any other substantially similar condition specified by the Secretary of Health and Human Services

In addition to the paid leave explained above, the FFCRA amends the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to allow emergency paid family leave to employees of companies with fewer than 500 employees who are unable to work to care for a child whose school or place of care closed during the national emergency. In this situation, the enhanced provisions are not dependent on the previous company standard of 50 employees within a 75-mile radius. Further still, an employee must be employed for only 30 days (rather than the typical 12-month employment period/1,250 hours) to be eligible for this FMLA provision.

Protect Your Sick Employees and Meet the Latest Posting Requirements

As more states and cities pass specific legislation, employers should expect an increase in paid sick leave provisions, as well as related postings. Federal, state and local coverage is guaranteed through Poster Guard® Compliance Protection, as well as the new Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) Poster — a stand-alone poster for immediate compliance until the law expires end of 2020.