Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Stoddard-Dare, Patricia
• DeRigne, LeaAnne
• Quinn, Linda
• Mallett, Christopher
• McLeigh, Jill D
• Spaulding, William

Titel

Paid Sick Leave Status in Relation to Government Sponsored Welfare Utilization

Ist Teil von

• American journal of orthopsychiatry, 2018, Vol.88 (5), p.608-615

Ort / Verlag

United States: Educational Publishing Foundation

Erscheinungsjahr

2018

Link zum Volltext

Quelle

MEDLINE

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• Nearly a third of all U.S. workers, primarily lower-paid employees, do not have paid sick leave benefits, prompting some lawmakers to consider mandating paid sick leave for all U.S. employees so workers can access timely health care without lost wages. A representative sample of 19,537 workers in current paid employment was examined, searching for the association between access to paid sick leave benefits and receipt of six different welfare and welfare-related services. After controlling for relevant demographic, work, income, and medical/health care variables, results of the logistic models indicate that, among working adults age 18-64, those without paid sick leave are 1.41 times more likely to receive income from a state or county welfare program, 1.36 times more likely to receive other welfare assistance (transportation and child care supports), 1.33 times more likely to received sponsored rental assistance, and 1.34 times more likely to receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits (referred to as food stamps commonly and in this article). Mandating paid sick leave benefits may impact usage of social welfare assistance since families with paid sick leave do not have to lose wages when work is missed because of health and caregiver responsibilities. Public Policy Relevance Statement The findings in this research suggest that providing mandatory paid sick leave benefits to all employees may reduce the burden on welfare programs. When employees can successfully manage both their health and that of their children, they may be able to successfully maintain employment, which leads to financial security and a reduction of dependence on welfare programs. Providing paid sick leave benefits may reduce federal, state, and local spending on welfare programs. The savings from these programs could support subsidizing mandatory sick leave benefits. Sick leave benefits can be thought of as both public health policy and antipoverty policy.