Too many workers can't afford to be sick

An article from the San Francisco Chronicle:

As many as 5.4 million working Californians don't get any paid sick days -- and they tend to be both sicker and poorer than employees who do receive sick leave, according to a report released last week.

"The more you need paid sick days, the less likely you are to have them," said Dr. Rajiv Bhatia, director of occupational and environmental health for San Francisco and a contributor to the report.

The report was released by supporters of a bill that would require all California employers to provide paid time off for workers to care for themselves or family members.

That bill was modeled on the paid sick leave law that took effect last year in San Francisco. The bill passed the California Assembly in May and is scheduled for a hearing next week in the state's Senate Appropriations Committee.

Business groups led by the California Chamber of Commerce oppose the sick leave bill, saying it is a complicated and costly mandate that could force companies to cut wages or lay off workers. "It's a bad idea to mandate benefits," chamber spokeswoman Marti Fisher said.

But backers said the public health benefits would outweigh the employer costs.

The report, prepared by Oakland nonprofit group Human Impact Partners with funding from a Unitarian Universalist group, used data from existing health surveys to paint a picture of who does and doesn't receive paid sick leave.

For example, better-paid workers are more likely to get paid time off. Among the highest-paid quarter of U.S. workers, 72 percent receive paid sick time. But among the lowest-paid quarter, only 21 percent get paid sick time.