No images? Click here Welcome to Your Life, Better for March 13, 2020. Here's what you need to know to make your life better at work and at home: Lab Notes#BetterWork Due to the growing threat of Covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, the Better Life Lab calls on policymakers and business leaders to immediately extend paid sick leave and paid caregiving leave policies to all workers. The United States is one of the few advanced nations with no public paid sick days policy. One in four workers have no paid sick days. In the U.S., businesses may voluntarily extend paid sick days to workers, but many businesses in the service, restaurant, hospitality and care industries have chosen not to do so. The CDC reports that one in five food service workers - the vast majority of whom have no access to paid sick leave - have come in to work while sick with vomiting or diarrhea. The economic, health, and humanitarian case for these policies has been clear for years. Research shows that public paid sick days policies reduce the spread of seasonal flu. Now the absence of these policies for so much of the American workforce is a threat to public health and specifically to aging Americans and those with compromised immune systems. Further, asking workers to stay away from work or self-quarantine without pay creates unnecessary economic hardship and unacceptable financial uncertainty for workers and their families. In recent years, 12 states and the District of Columbia have stepped into this dangerous void and passed public paid sick days policies to cover workers. In recent days, employers like Walmart, Uber, and Amazon have stepped up and pledged to give workers two weeks of paid sick leave. Now, it’s time for Congress and our national leaders, charged with protecting our health and welfare, to do the same for all workers—not just now, in this time of pandemic, but permanently. For more information about the costs, benefits and feasibility of instituting paid sick leave immediately, please reach out to the Better Life Lab team at betterlifelab@newamerica.org and check out this resource from our friends at the National Partnership for Women and Families. #BetterCare
Elderly individuals have a higher risk of contracting COVID-19. Many elderly adults will rely on family members for care, and in their absence, professional home health aides or personal aides, who earn on average eleven dollars an hour. In her latest piece for Slate, “The Coronavirus Is a Reminder That Elder-Care Workers Deserve Much Better,” BLL Deputy Director Haley Swenson discusses the limitations of our care economy and the need to support our caregivers through this pandemic and beyond. #BetterLife
The House of Representatives recently introduced an emergency response bill to the coronavirus. Thanks to the tireless advocacy of work-family advocates, including BLL Senior Fellow Vicki Shabo, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act includes both a proposal to ensure all workers earn paid sick and safe days and receive 14 immediate paid sick and family caregiving leave days. The bill also extends family and medical leave benefits to workers to cope with the current public health emergency. Vicki has been interviewed on the coronavirus’ impact on families and workers and the need for paid leave policies, particularly in these precarious times.
The Gender, Work, and Social Policy News Round Up:
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