A national paid leave policy is urgently needed to address the new coronavirus outbreak and to help protect the health and safety of the population in the future. The increasing spread of the coronavirus, which causes the disease COVID-19, is an urgent issue for the health and economic well-being of workers, families, and communities—with more infections and deaths reported in the United States every day.
The coronavirus’ high transmission rate and incubation period of up to 14 days may necessitate people self-quarantining at home for extended periods of time if they are sick with or exposed to the coronavirus in order to curb the spread of the infection; they may also be forced to stay home if their workplace or child’s school or child care provider closes because the outbreak worsens. This places workers in an impossible bind if they do not have access to paid leave. An estimated 32.5 million individuals—or 27 percent of private sector workers—in the United States lack access to a single paid sick day to recover from an illness such as COVID-19 or to care for a sick family member without losing their job or their paycheck. Low-income and service-sector workers—who are disproportionately women—and Latinx workers are the least likely to have access to paid sick leave. Continue reading “Lack of Paid Leave Risks Public Health During the Coronavirus Outbreak”