The growing threat from the coronavirus is a stark reminder of how America’s failure to give workers the flexibility to take paid time off puts public health at risk.
One of the most effective ways to prevent the spread of infectious disease is for people who are sick not to go to work. In fact, staying home is the No. 1 recommendation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for preventing the spread of flu and other communicable diseases in the workplace.
But for millions of Americans, staying home means sacrificing income they cannot afford to lose. Expanding access to paid sick days is one important solution — but we also can’t forget that millions of workers still lack paid family and medical leave.
The United States remains the only industrialized country in the world that doesn’t guarantee its citizens the ability to take longer-term leave to care for a child or family member, or to treat a serious illness. Today, only 17% of civilian workers in the U.S. have access to paid family leave.
Without question, recent years have seen progress toward adopting more family-friendly workplace policies. Elected officials in both Missouri and Kansas have answered our call to expand paid parental leave to nearly all state employees, giving more than 100,000 people the ability to care for a newborn or adopted child without taking a hit to their paycheck. More and more companies in the private sector are following suit because they recognize that offering paid leave is good business.
Unfortunately, this progress isn’t shared evenly. Low-income, part-time and hourly workers are increasingly being left behind. Ninety-three percent of low-wage workers and 94% of part-time workers lack any access to paid family leave. This has a disproportionate impact on women, who are more likely to hold part-time jobs.
In addition to putting families in the impossible position of having to choose between their health and their paycheck, the lack of paid family leave also puts the health of the broader community at risk. Service industry workers such as waiters, shop clerks and bank tellers may come into contact with hundreds of customers a day, exponentially increasing the risk of infection.
This is a dangerous and preventable circumstance that could be addressed by expanding paid family and medical leave to all workers. It offers enormous benefits for our economy, our families and our health — for about the minimal cost of a cup of coffee a week per person.
Workers could get treatment or stay home with an illness without the stress of worrying it could jeopardize their job security. Parents would be able to spend more time bonding with newborns, which is shown to improve overall health and well-being. And Americans in the so-called “sandwich generation” would be able to care for elderly family members without sacrificing their income.
Paid leave offers significant benefits to businesses as well. The White House’s Council of Economic Advisers concluded in 2014 that paid family and medical leave programs can improve long-term productivity by boosting recruitment, retention and employee motivation. Plus, every dollar we put into the pockets of hardworking families is a dollar that strengthens our economy and supports neighborhood small businesses.
For officials worried about the size of government, paid family and medical leave has been shown to increase financial independence and reduce reliance on public assistance. One study found that women who take paid family leave are 39% less likely to receive public assistance or food stamps in the year following a child’s birth, compared to women who take no leave.
If we want people to make safer choices for their own health and the health of their community, we need to make it easier for people to stay home without sacrificing their income or job security.
The coronavirus is a prime example of how we all have a stake in the effort to make the workplace healthier and more humane for everyone. Let’s not wait until the next pandemic scare to make the right decision for our families, businesses and communities. The time for nationwide paid family and medical leave is now.
Wendy Doyle is president and CEO of the Women’s Foundation in Kansas City.