Latinos and Paid Sick Days: The Case for the
Healthy Families Act
Nationwide, nearly forty percent of workers—and more than half of Hispanic workers—lack
access to paid time off from work when they are ill. Passing the Healthy Families Act, proposed
federal legislation that would give workers access to paid sick time, would provide paid sick days
access to an additional 30 million workers, including an additional 5.6 million Latino workers.1
In this economy, workers can’t afford to get sick.
Particularly in this economic climate, no one should face the awful choice between their health and
their paycheck ― or even their job. But millions of workers in the United States lack paid sick days
and must decide between their financial security and their health every time they are faced with
even the most common illness or when a family member gets sick.
Working families in the U.S. are under tremendous financial pressures as a result of this recession.
Nearly 10 percent of the workforce is unemployed, and many more workers are facing
underemployment. The unemployment rate is even higher for Hispanic workers (12 percent).2
People can ill afford to lose their jobs, particularly when unemployment can mean months of wage
loss.
Currently, no state or federal law guarantees access to paid sick days, which means workers can lose
pay and even be fired simply for getting sick.3
Latinos and low-wage workers disproportionately lack paid sick days.
A 2007 Congressional Research Service report found that only 45 percent of all Hispanic workers in
the U.S. had access to paid sick days ― compared to 60 percent of the total population.4
In establishments with 15 or more employees ― the businesses that would be covered by the
Healthy Families Act ― nearly half (49 percent) of all Latino employees have no access to paid sick
days.5
Only one in three low-wage workers has paid sick days, which means that they are particularly
vulnerable to economic hardship when illness strikes.6 These workers are more likely to work in jobs
requiring frequent contact with the public ― including food preparation, food service, and child
care. When they go to work sick, we all risk catching a contagious illness.
Working families with children have a particular need for paid sick days so that a parent can stay
home with a sick child without losing pay or risking their job. Over a quarter (28 percent) of
working-poor families ― those among the least able to give up a day’s pay ― have at least one
Hispanic parent.7
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In the absence of a paid sick days labor standard, employers’ policies can undercut workers’
economic security when illness strikes.
Employers have been rolling back paid sick days coverage in recent years, particularly for low-wage
workers. A report from New York City shows that between 2007 and 2009, paid sick days coverage
for near-poor workers decreased from 56 percent to 33 percent.8
Nearly one in six workers report that they or a family member have been fired, disciplined, written
up, or threatened with being fired for taking time off due to illness or to care for a sick relative.9
The Healthy Families Act, proposed federal paid sick days legislation, would provide access to
paid sick days for millions of workers.
The Healthy Families Act (H.R. 2460/S. 1152) would enable workers to earn up to seven paid sick
days per year to recover from short-term illness, care for a sick family member, obtain routine
medical care, or seek assistance related to domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking.
Passing the Healthy Families Act would provide paid sick days access to 5.6 million additional Latino
workers ― a 78 percent increase ― for a total of 12.8 million covered workers.10
Workers would earn one hour of paid sick time for every 30 hours worked, up to 56 hours (seven
days) per year, unless the employer selects a higher limit.
Employers with policies that provide leave in the same amount for the same purposes would not
have to change their policies. The law would exempt small businesses with fewer than 15 workers.
Hispanics strongly support a paid sick days law.
In a recent poll, 80 percent of Hispanic adults agreed that paid sick days are a “basic worker’s
right.”11
75 percent of Hispanic adults support a paid sick days law.12
1
Joint Economic Committee of the U.S. Congress, Expanding Access to Paid Sick Leave: The Impact of the Healthy Families Act
on America’s Workers, March 2010. http://jec.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?a=Files.Serve&File_id=abf8aca7-6b94-4152-b7202d8d04b81ed6.
2
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Situation Summary, July 2010. http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm.
3
San Francisco, Washington, D.C., and Milwaukee have passed paid sick days laws.
4
Linda Levine, Leave Benefits in the United States, Congressional Research Service, June 2010. Calculations based on data from
the 2007 Medical Expenditures Panel Survey (MEPS) household component.
5
See note 1.
6
Ibid. Refers to workers in the lowest income quartile.
7
Ibid.
8
Jeremy Reiss and Nancy Rankin, Sick in the City: What the Lack of Paid Leave Means for New Yorkers, Community Service
Society/A Better Balance, 2009.
9
National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago for the Public Welfare Foundation, Paid Sick Days: Attitudes and
Experiences, May 2010. http://www.publicwelfare.org/resources/DocFiles/psd2010final.pdf.
10
See note 1.
11
See note 9.
12
Ibid.