As 2024’s ballot wins in Alaska, Missouri and Nebraska illustrate, the American public already understands that paid sick time is just common-sense
There is reason for deep and serious concern over what the 2024 election results mean for the health and well-being of women, working families and communities nationwide. But there was at least one promising development that should not be overlooked: By large and decisive margins, voters in Alaska, Missouri and Nebraska all voted yes to enacting new paid sick time laws in each state.
This means that approximately 3 million more workers in the U.S. have gained the legal right to paid sick time and will soon no longer need to make the impossible choice between sacrificing a paycheck and going to work or sending a child to school sick. These ballot races were called very quickly, and offer a definitive confirmation that voters strongly support paid sick time, regardless of political party or geographic location. In Nebraska, paid sick time won by a margin of almost three to one—a victory of nearly 50 percentage points.
With these ballot wins, 19 states, as well as over a dozen localities, have now embraced paid sick time as a fundamental workplace right—and that is worth celebrating. But access to such a vital protection shouldn’t depend on luck or zip code. Tens of millions of workers are still being left behind.
While paid sick time has become a standard and expected benefit offered for workers in salaried, white-collar positions, workers in low-wage, hourly positions are still regularly faced with the impossible choice between sacrificing a paycheck that they cannot afford to miss, or coming to work sick and jeopardizing their health, and often also the health of others.
If Congress wants to address widespread concerns about economic hardship and rising costs of living, they can listen to voters and tangibly improve the well-being of working families everywhere by passing the federal Healthy Families Act.
The benefits of paid sick time are clear and numerous, as we see up close through A Better Balance’s free work-family legal helpline every day. It helps the families who need these benefits most to stay afloat financially: Workers without paid sick time are more likely to struggle to afford basic expenses like groceries, rent and utilities. Paid sick time is critical for gender and racial equality. Women, especially BIPOC women, are more likely to work in low-paid jobs and more likely to shoulder caregiving responsibilities in their families, necessitating paid sick time not only for themselves but to care for a sick child or loved one. Paid sick time also enables pregnant workers to take the time they need to attend prenatal appointments and receive medical care, which can help address the growing maternal health crisis that Black birthing people face.
Paid sick time is an issue of growing concern to young people, who represent an increasing portion of our country’s caregivers and are also more likely to work in part-time or seasonal positions where they don’t receive paid sick time. An alarming 85 percent of Gen Z says they have gone to work while sick in the past year.
As we saw during the COVID pandemic, paid sick time also promotes public health, curbing the spread of contagious illnesses in workplaces and in schools. Rates of flu-like illnesses decrease by approximately 11 percent in the year after a state paid sick time law takes effect—benefits that Alaskans, Nebraskans and Missourians can now look forward to. Research also shows that paid sick time is good for businesses and the economy as a whole, boosting workers’ morale and productivity while reducing costly turnover and allowing more individuals to participate and remain in the workforce.
But, as these ballot wins illustrate, the public clearly already understands that paid sick time is just common-sense. So do employers: Just two years after New York City’s paid sick time law, one of the first paid sick time victories was implemented, 86 percent of NYC employers supported the law. It is time for lawmakers nationwide to catch up. Other states should follow in the footsteps of Alaska, Missouri, Nebraska and 16 other states and join this growing tide by passing paid sick time laws of their own. And if Congress wants to address widespread concerns about economic hardship and rising costs of living, they can listen to voters and tangibly improve the well-being of working families everywhere by passing the federal Healthy Families Act. Workers and families can’t afford to keep waiting for paid sick time.
