Companies Tweak Sick-Day Policies as Coronavirus Spreads
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
This is your Money Briefing for Friday, March 13th. I'm Charlie Turner for The Wall Street Journal. Everybody's worried about coming down with the coronavirus, but many are also worried about this. They get no paid sick leave from their jobs.
The standard 14-day incubation period is way beyond what even the vast majority of U.S. workers with paid sick days have.
How many U.S. workers lack paid sick leave during the coronavirus outbreak?
And remember, a huge swath of U.S. workers have no paid sick days at all.
We'll talk with The Wall Street Journal's Catherine Dill in a moment.
If you're forced to miss work because you have the coronavirus, will your employer compensate you for it? Millions of Americans have no paid sick time, and millions more worry about whether they have enough to cover a severe illness. How are companies responding to the coronavirus outbreak?
How does the 14-day coronavirus incubation period affect sick-leave needs?
Joining us is The Wall Street Journal's Catherine Dill. Catherine, lack of paid sick leave is a big issue for many employees. How does the coronavirus make this problem worse?
Well, coronavirus magnifies this enormously. The standard 14-day incubation period is way beyond what even the vast majority of U.S. workers with paid sick days have. And remember, a huge swath of U.S. workers have no paid sick days at all.
Which groups of workers are most likely to lack paid sick days and why does that matter?
How many workers in the U.S. have no access to paid sick leave?
33 million U.S. workers have no paid sick days.
And I assume a lot more are worried about how much coverage they'll have.
Yes, definitely. It really, you know, it varies employer to employer what workers even with paid sick days have according to their policies, and it can also vary manager to manager how they're implemented.
Who do these workers tend to be?
So workers without paid sick days tend to be frontline and low-wage workers, food service workers, home health aides, people who are not only more likely to get sick because of the populations they're exposed to, but also pretty likely to infect a lot of other people when they come to work while they're contagious. It's estimated that workers who came to work during the H1N1 outbreak in 2009 infected as many as 7 million of their coworkers.
I think it's a huge temptation for these employees to come to work and as a result endanger other people.
Of course, absolutely. I mean, if they don't come to work, they risk missed wages, in some cases at best, and at worst, losing their jobs.
What are companies doing about this? Which companies have adjusted their policies in response to the coronavirus?
Which companies have changed sick-day policies in response to coronavirus?
We're seeing companies really scrambling to come up with contingency plans. Walmart waived its attendance policy for associates. So if you're sick or worried about getting sick, you can stay home, use your paid leave without the usual restrictions. Trader Joe's said if you're sick, stay home. It won't come out of your paid sick days bank. And Darden Restaurants, which is the parent of Olive Garden and Longhorn Steakhouse, they have 180,000 hourly workers. They accelerated the rollout of a planned paid sick time benefit because of this.
Talk about the pitfalls of paid sick time. Does it depend on what kind of job you have?
Yes. Whether you have paid sick time really does depend on the kind of job you have and also where you live. Among the top 10% of earners, 93% of workers have paid sick days, but that number falls to 30% among the bottom 10% of earners.
What limitations and pitfalls exist with employer-provided paid sick time?
So even among white collar workers who are more likely to have these benefits, a lot depends on your relationship with your manager, how comfortable you feel staying home, what the culture is like in your company. There's just a lot of variation.
Do states and cities have laws regarding paid sick leave? What are some of them?
Yes. So there's no federal law in the U.S., but there are 11 states plus Washington, D.C., and 22 cities and counties. that do have laws providing workers with paid sick days that they can earn, usually between about five and seven days a year. And in those places, those days can be used to recover from an illness or take care of a sick family member.
Do states and cities have laws guaranteeing paid sick leave and how do they work?
They can also be used for preventative health care, like a physical.
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Chapters
7 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:06–0:28
2
How many U.S. workers lack paid sick leave during the coronavirus outbreak?
0:28–1:00
3
How does the 14-day coronavirus incubation period affect sick-leave needs?
1:00–1:25
4
Which groups of workers are most likely to lack paid sick days and why does that matter?
1:25–2:37
5
Which companies have changed sick-day policies in response to coronavirus?
2:37–3:24
6
What limitations and pitfalls exist with employer-provided paid sick time?
3:24–4:02
7
Do states and cities have laws guaranteeing paid sick leave and how do they work?
4:02–4:18
Speakers
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