Research Overwhelmingly Concludes the Benefit and Necessity of Guaranteed Paid Sick Days

Multiple studies have been conducted to evaluate the effects of guaranteed paid sick days. These assessments overwhelmingly conclude that providing paid sick days to employees saves employers and employees jobs and money, and significantly improves public health by reducing the spread of illness.

The Health Impact Assessment of the Healthy Families Act of 2009 (Human Impact Partners in conjunction with the San Francisco Dept. of Public Health) determined that the Healthy Families Act would have significant positive public health impacts, for both employers, employees, as well as the general public.

Paid Sick Days Don’t Cause Unemployment (Center for Economic and Policy Research) concludes that guaranteed paid sick days do not affect the unemployment rate, after looking at data from 22 countries that have federal guaranteed paid sick leave. One study conducted in Massachusetts by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research found that businesses in the Commonwealth can save $130 million each year if paid sick days are implemented.

Valuing Good Health in Massachusetts: The Costs and Benefits of Paid Sick Days finds that businesses suffer greatly from employee turnover and spread of illness; these negative effects can be avoided by guaranteed paid sick days.

Please click here to see the Mass. AFL-CIO's Paid Sick Days page.