Awareness and use of (emergency) sick leave: US employees’ unaddressed sick leave needs in a global pandemic

Abstract

We study US sick leave use and unaddressed sick leave needs in the midst of the global severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus type 2 (SARS COV 2) pandemic based on a representative survey. More than half of all US employees are unaware of the new emergency sick leave options provided by the federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). Awareness and take-up rates are significantly higher among Asian Americans and lower among the foreign-born. About 8 million employees used emergency sick leave in the first 6 to 8 mo. Nevertheless, the share of employees who needed but could not take paid sick leave tripled in the pandemic; unaddressed sick leave needs total 15 million employees per month and are 69% higher among women. Our findings show that access to paid sick leave significantly reduces unaddressed sick leave needs. We conclude that given the fragmented US sick leave landscape, to address the strong increase in unaddressed sick leave needs during the pandemic, federal FFCRA response was not adequate.

How the COVID-19 Pandemic Will Change Workplaces, Healthcare Markets and Healthy Living: An Overview and Assessment

“…The lack of paid leave coverage has been cited as a main reason for the difficulties of U.S. employers to fill jobs; time use data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show that the share of employees who juggle work from home and child care has increased tenfold during the pandemic [23]. Companion evidence shows that unmet sick leave needs tripled during the pandemic compared to previous years [24].…”

Mandated Sick Pay: Coverage, Utilization, and Welfare Effects

“…31 For newly covered employees who have accumulated sufficient sick pay credit, mandates imply an increase in sick pay from zero to w − l. For newly covered employees who cannot cover their sick leave needs with the available credit, mandates imply an increase in paid leave from zero to w − l for the sick leave hours they have accumulated, and zero for the remaining hours. In the pandemic, despite federal emergency sick leave, unmet sick leave needs have tripled to 10% of the workforce in a given month (Jelliffe et al, 2021). level σ * 0 .…”

Who is the “She” in the Pandemic “She-Cession”? Variation in COVID-19 Labor Market Outcomes by Gender and Family Status

“…The lockdown and remote working bring in a whole new set of policy-related issues such as childcare (Petts et al., 2021 ; Sevilla & Smith, 2021 ), home schooling (Averett, 2021 ; Petts et al., 2021 ), out-of-school programs (Fornaro et al., 2021 ), sick leave (Jelliffe et al., 2021 ), and unemployment insurance (Ganong et al., 2020 ). The continuation of employment by teleworking became tightly entangled with the burden of childcare (Barkowski et al., 2020 ).…”

“…The tasks of many highly educated workers can be done remotely, while those of less-educated workers tend to require physical contact and in-person presence (Montenovo et al., 2020 ). Highly educated workers tend to have jobs with paid sick leave, while less-educated workers who became victims of the pandemic at a higher rate typically lack this benefit (Jelliffe et al., 2021 ). The combination of the increased burden of child care at home and the continuing requirement of in-person contact at work could potentially have nullified the shielding effect of marriage for less-educated mothers.…”