Yes on #4Â For Earned Sick Time
Hardworking people shouldn’t have to choose between the job they need and the children they love.
What is Question 4?
Gives employees the right to earn an hour of sick time per 30 hours worked. One million workers in Massachusetts cannot now earn a single hour of sick time. Earned sick time improves employee retention and productivity, and is good for our economy. This measure has proven beneficial for businesses large and small, and employees across sectors. Please Join Us In Supporting This Critical Measure for Our Communities.
Who Is Impacted?
Workers at companies with 10 or fewer employees would earn up to 40 hours of unpaid sick time, and workers at companies with 11 or more employees would earn up to 40 hours of paid sick time. Question 4 requires employees to work for 90 days before using their first sick day, and to provide a doctor’s note for absences of 3 days or more.
Helps Businesses and the Economy
Earned sick time makes workers healthier, more productive, and more loyal to their employers. It also keeps money in the pockets of families who then spend it in the local economy. Businesses who implement earned sick time find that it reduces employee turnover, increases productivity, and helps their bottom line.
In places that have implemented earned sick time, like San Francisco, job growth has been higher than in neighboring countieswithout the policy. San Francisco also saw more growth in the retail, accommodation, and food service industries – the areas which critics like to claim will be most affected.
The Research
Research has shown workers use sick time like an insurance policy: only when it’s needed and often, never at all. Nationally, workers with earned sick time use only half the time they’re entitled to, while independent studies project Massachusetts workers would use only use an average of 2.5 days a year. In San Francisco, where workers can accrue between 5 and 9 sick days,a full 25% do not use a single sick day, and workers use a median of 3 sick days per year.
Resources
- Raise Up Massachusetts
- “Earned Paid Sick Time – Frequently Asked Questions,†Massachusetts Budget & Policy Center
- “Access to Paid Sick Days in Massachusetts,†Institute for Women’s Policy Research. Describes rates of access to earned sick time in Massachusetts by gender, race, occupation, part-time/full-time status, and income level.
- “Paid Sick Days in Massachusetts Would Lower Health Care Costs by Reducing Unnecessary Emergency Department Visits,†Institute for Women’s Policy Research.
- “Paid Sick Leave Does Not Harm Business Growth or Job Growth,†Drum Major Institute for Public Policy
- “Paid Sick Days: A Win for Employees and the Economy,†Center for Economic & Policy Research
- “San Francisco’s Paid Sick Leave Ordinance: Outcomes for Employers and Employees,†Institute for Women’s Policy Research
