After correcting employer-imposed job tenure requirements, only 58 percent - or 44 million - of U.S. private-sector employees were provided paid sick days in 2010, according to new research from the Institute for Women's Policy Research.

Based on a recent estimate from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics using data from the National Compensation Survey, IWPR's estimate is 4 percent higher than the majority, though NCS data does not consider employees who are not yet covered for paid sick days because of job-tenure requirements. Employees typically wait an average of 78 business days, amounting to about 3.5 months, before access to paid sick days is available to them.

"The fewer the number of workers who are able to stay home when sick, the more likely it is that diseases will spread, increasing health care costs and causing needless economic losses," says Dr. Robert Drago, director of research with IWPR. "We saw this during the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic when workers without paid sick days were more likely to go to work while infected with H1N1."

Food service and preparation employees recorded lowest rate of access to paid sick days at 23 percent. Occupations with low rates for paid sick day access as well as high turnover rates have low coverage rates, which include jobs in construction, extraction, personal care, service and protective services.

"This study has important implications for the nation's economy," says Debra Ness, president of the National Partnership for Women & Families. "With unemployment so high and job searches taking so long, greater access to earned paid sick days will help ensure that workers won't lose their jobs if they get sick or a child needs care."

San Francisco; Washington, D.C.; and Milwaukee now have laws requiring employer-provide paid sick days, and comparable laws are under consideration in states and cities nationwide, including New York City. Each year since 2005, the Healthy Families Act, which would nationally mandate employer-provided paid sick days, has also been introduced to Congress.

Instant Insights /

No sick days for 44 million U.S. workers in 2010

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