Paid sick leave gets a healthy boost in Seattle

Seattle, a city famous for its coffee, alternative music scene and three seasons of rain just added another distinction to its list. This week, the Seattle City Council approved a bill requiring businesses with at least five employees to provide paid sick leave, starting in September 2012.

This makes Seattle the third city in the U.S. (after San Francisco and Washington, D.C.) to mandate paid sick days for employees to care for themselves or a family member when ill. The amount of paid sick days depends on the size of the business, as follows:

• 5-49 employees: at least five days
• 50-249 employees: at least seven days
• 250+ employees: at least nine days

Businesses with fewer than five employees are exempt, as well as businesses less than two years old. Otherwise, workers can start using their accrued paid time off after a six-month waiting period.

As you would expect, some people are giving the bill a thumbs up while others are less than enthusiastic.Councilmember Nick Licata, who sponsored the legislation, feels the bill is a positive, both for businesses and employees:

"It's wrong that someone has to choose between going to work sick or losing pay," Licata says. Seattle Times

Supporters add that paid sick days protect public health, help increase worker productivity and reduce turnover.

The dissenters, however, are concerned that the new paid sick leave requirements will put a strain on businesses already struggling with a weakened economy. One business consultant cautioned, "You're making it more expensive to do business and more difficult to create jobs."

Where does your business stand regarding paid sick leave? Check out this previous post for additional insight.

Paid sick leave gets a healthy boost in Seattle

"Achoo," too bad for you: The politics of paid sick leave

Do you offer your employees paid sick leave or some sort of paid time off (PTO) bank? If not, the debate over paid sick days now unfolding in Washington, state capitals (like Connecticut and Massachusetts) and cities (like Philadelphia and New York City) could change all that.

Advocates of mandatory paid sick leave say it’s a critical benefit that builds good will and loyalty among employees, while eliminating the stress of missing a day’s pay when you’re under the weather. There’s also the health aspect: Sick workers who are experiencing fever or a nagging cough are highly contagious and as such, unnecessarily expose coworkers and customers to their germs. Obviously, the risk is that much greater for service workers who have contact with the public, including restaurant workers, school bus drivers, home health aides and janitors.

But opponents claim this is the last thing strained businesses need during these difficult economic times – that many employers would be forced to offset the cost of such a benefit by cutting positions, hours or other benefits.

Regarding the proposed Healthy Families Act in Washington, the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) has expressed its opposition, stating:

"A paid sick leave mandate as outlined in the Healthy Families Act would limit an employer's flexibility in designing a benefits package that meets the needs of their unique workforce, resulting in significant costs for employers as well as a potential loss to employees who prefer other benefits rather than paid sick leave."

But difficult doesn’t mean impossible. Businesses that already offer sick pay --  84% for management, professional and related occupations, and 42% for service workers, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics --  are able to manage costs by:

=> Requiring employees to have been employed for a certain length of time before they are eligible to earn sick leave
=>Accruing sick leave at a certain rate per month or per the number of hours worked
=>Limiting the total hours employees can accrue each year

So what do you think? If you already offer paid sick leave, how do you keep the costs in line? And if you’re not a paid sick leave provider, what are your biggest concerns?

"Achoo," too bad for you: The politics of paid sick leave

One size doesn't fit all: Paid leave benefits vary by industry, occupation and wages

A report by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) revealed some interesting findings about paid sick leave benefits, including:

• Access to paid sick leave for private industry employees varied by occupation, ranging from 42% for service workers to 84% for management, professional and related occupations

• 81% of employees earning wages in the highest 25% wage distribution bracket had access to paid sick leave, compared to 33% for employees in the lowest 25% backet

• In private industry, employee received an average of eight days of paid sick leave after one year of service (with small establishments offering an average of six days and large establishments, 11 days)

• The cost of sick leave per employee hour worked in state and local government was $0.81, compared to $0.23 an hour in private industry

• Higher-paying occupations typically incur higher sick leave costs, averaging $0.53 per employee hour worked in management, professional and related occupations, compared to $0.08 for service occupations

As an employer, you are not required by law to provide paid leave benefits for your employees. But to attract and hold on to workers, most employers offer some sort of paid sick leave in their benefit package.

How do your paid sick leave benefits compare to national averages? Are you doing enough with this particular employee perk? To learn more, check out the entire Program Perspectives: On Paid Sick Leave.

One size doesn't fit all: Paid leave benefits vary by industry, occupation and wages