Paid sick leave makes health and economic sense
No debate on paid sick days is complete without understanding how having access to paid sick days fights the spread of disease. Stopping the spread of disease through a workplace and to customers has a tangible, economic impact on business. As a primary care physician in Bernalillo County’s South Valley neighborhood for the past eight years, I have frequently witnessed the impacts of not having a strong paid sick leave policy and how it can negatively impact our community. Some of these impacts are fairly obvious: Workers who have infectious diseases but continue to work out of fear of the consequences of requesting sick leave risk transmitting diseases to co-workers and the general public, which increases illness rates and impacts workplace productivity.
The prognosis of many medical conditions is affected by the timeliness of diagnosis and treatment. Patients who delay needed care due to lack of sick leave are more likely to present with advanced disease, increasing the cost of their care, and worsening their long-term health and productivity.
Parents and caregivers who work with children and adult family members with significant medical needs often require functional paid sick leave in order to provide effective care.
Timely care for many diseases we see in Bernalillo County can mean the difference between being able to work and healthily manage an illness and (contracting a) disabling disease. Unfortunately, I see too many cases of the latter. It’s time we have a law that stands for the health of our whole community so we can have a truly healthy workforce.
Imagine a measles outbreak in Albuquerque like those we’ve seen across the country. Since New Mexico has the lowest rate of access to paid sick days, the rapid spread of measles here would be quite likely. Parents who lack sick days would drop off sick, undiagnosed children at school because they are unable to stay at home and care for them. Infected, undiagnosed workers would continue to report to work at their restaurant or retail jobs. This is a horrible scenario to imagine (and) is playing out in other states, and could certainly play out here.
I recently read a study on the effects of paid sick leave in Albuquerque commissioned by our City Council. In the research, UNM found the academic literature that is related to paid sick leave policy largely comes from the public health perspective, and supports the theory that paid sick leave creates health benefits for individuals and families by giving them time to seek treatment and stay home to keep their illness from spreading.
These studies make the economic impact to employers clear. Employees with sick days have higher productivity, lower turnover and lower absenteeism, all of which impact a business’ bottom line.
I commend Bernalillo County for introducing a sick leave ordinance that will assist in decreasing the length of contagious diseases and give thousands the ability to take care of their bodies and families without worry and stress. This is taking a step in the right direction by not forcing our fellow residents to choose their need to make money and pay bills over the health of their loved ones when they need them the most. Let’s give all employees peace of mind by implementing the earned sick leave ordinance for all.