Record share of U.S. workers now have paid sick leave, reports Labor Department

Record Increase in Sick Leave Entitlement for U.S. Workers

A recent report from the Labor Department reveals that a record 64 percent of private sector workers in the United States are now entitled to sick leave, indicating a consistent upward trend over the past decade.

This increase is largely attributed to the passage of new legislation mandating sick leave for employees across five states, the District of Columbia, and 28 local jurisdictions. Notably, the Chicago City Council unanimously approved a measure last month that enables workers to earn sick days.

According to the Labor Department’s blog, the proportion of workers with at least one day of sick leave rose by three points in the past year and has increased by seven percentage points since 2006.

Melissa Josephs, director of equal opportunity policy at Women Employed, an organization that supported the Chicago sick leave initiative, emphasized the positive impact of such policies on workers, employers, and the overall economy.

The data highlights that the significant rise from 2015 to 2016 was primarily due to enhanced access for workers earning within the bottom 25 percent of wage earners. In this group, the percentage of employees with paid sick leave increased from 31 percent in 2015 to 39 percent this year.

Despite these advancements, disparities in access to sick leave remain. Employees in the highest wage bracket are still 2.2 times more likely to have paid sick leave compared to those in the lowest bracket. However, this gap has diminished from 2.7 times in 2015, according to the Labor Department’s blog.