Valuing Good Health in Connecticut: The Costs and Benefits of Paid Sick Days

Policymakers across the country are increasingly interested in ensuring that workers have paid sick days. In addition to concerns about workers' ability to respond to their own health needs, there is growing recognition that, which so many dual-earner and single-parent families, family members' health needs can be address only by workers taking time from their…

Paid Sick Days in New York City Would Lower Health Care Costs by Reducing Unnecessary Emergency Department Visits

In New York City, 50 percent of working New Yorkers, or approximately 1,580,000 employees, lack access to paid sick days.1 This fact sheet reports findings from research by the Institute for Women's Policy Research (IWPR) on how increased access to paid sick days would improve both access to health care and health outcomes in New…

The Well-Being of Women in Utah: An Overview

This briefing paper provides an overview of how women in Utah fare in key dimensions of their lives: earnings, education, and economic security; physical and emotional health and safety; and political leadership and participation. While it lies beyond the scope of the paper to address other key aspects of women’s overall well-being—such as faith and…

Access to Paid Sick Days by Place of Work in the Chicago Metropolitan Area

The Gender Wage Gap: 2013; Differences by Race and Ethnicity, No Growth in Real Wages for Women

The gender wage gap in the United States has not seen significant improvement in recent years, and remains a reality for women across racial and ethnic groups. In 2013, the ratio of women’s to men’s median weekly full-time earnings was 82.1 percent, an increase of more than one percentage point since 2012,when the ratio was…

Valuing Good Health in Chicago: The Costs and Benefits of Earned Sick Time

This briefing paper uses data collected by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the U.S. Census Bureau to evaluate costs and benefits of Chicago’s Earned Sick Time Ordinance. It estimates how much time off Chicago workers would use under the proposed policy and the costs to employers…

Paid Sick Days in Chicago Would Lower Health Care Costs by Reducing Unnecessary Emergency Department Visits

In Chicago, 42 percent of the private workforce, or approximately 461,000 employees, lack access to paid sick days. This fact sheet reports findings from research by the Institute for Women's Policy Research (IWPR) on how increased access to paid sick days would improve both accesses to health care and health outcomes in the City of…

Paid Sick Days Access in the United States: Differences by Race/Ethnicity, Occupation, Earnings, and Work Schedule

Paid sick days bring substantial benefits to employers, workers, families, and communities. The economic and public health benefits of paid sick leave coverage include safer work environments; improved work life balance, reduced spread of contagion; and reduced health care costs. Access to this important benefit, however, is still too rare, and is unequally distributed across…

Access to Earned Sick Leave in San Diego

An analysis by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR) reveals that about 433,500 private sector employees in San Diego lack even a single earned sick day. Access to earned sick leave promotes healthy work environments by reducing the spread of illness, , increasing productivity, and supporting work and family balance. This briefing paper presents…

Valuing Good Health in Newark: The Costs and Benefits of Earned Sick Time

This briefing paper uses data collected by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the New Jersey Department of Health, and the U.S. Census Bureau to evaluate costs and benefits of Newark’s Worker Sick Leave Ordinance. It estimates how much time off Newark workers would use under the proposed…