Republicans Aren't Just Gutting Health Care. They're Taking Your Sick Leave, Too

"Americans are a sick people. Among their economic peers they expect to live shorter lives, experience higher rates of chronic disease, and spend more on their care and upkeep. The baseline necessities for maintaining a healthy human body over the course of a lifetime are often a luxury. Nevertheless, one in five Americans lack the ability to take a paid sick day from work if they fall ill."

"Across the private sector and state and local governments, around 26.5 million employees do not have access to paid sick time, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics released this year. The disparity is concentrated among low-income, part-time, and service industry workers, only about half of whom have access to paid sick days. Among the lowest 10 percent of earners, only 41 percent have paid sick leave, while 94 percent of the top 25 percent of earners have it."

"In Missouri, voters overwhelmingly approved a referendum guaranteeing statewide paid sick leave, and an increase to the state's minimum wage. Shortly after the mandate went into effect, Republicans in the legislature repealed it outright. In Nebraska, Republicans tacked on an amendment to a similar law - also passed by referendum - that significantly narrowed the pool of businesses covered, and which employees were entitled to the benefit."

Americans face shorter life expectancy, higher chronic disease rates, and greater health costs compared with economic peers. Essential resources for sustaining health are often unaffordable, and one in five Americans cannot take a paid sick day when sick. Sick leave and health care access are governed by a complex patchwork of state laws. Around 26.5 million employees lack access to paid sick time, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Lack of paid sick leave is concentrated among low-income, part-time, and service workers, with only 41 percent of the lowest earners covered versus 94 percent of top earners. No federal law guarantees paid sick leave, and some Republican-controlled states have repealed, narrowed, or limited recently enacted local leave protections.

Read at Rolling Stone