The recently released Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) newsletter on paid sick leave (featured in a previous post) has caught the attention of some policy experts and researchers because it features previously unreleased data on the true costs of paid sick days to businesses.
The BLS analysis finds the average cost for sick leave per employee hour worked for private-sector employers was just 23 cents. That’s less than $10 per week, and under $500 per year.
But that’s just the average cost to all private industry. The cost of providing paid sick days to sales and office workers was just 18 cents, or $375/year. For service workers: just 8 cents, or about $166 per year! So what drives up the average?
Higher costs for management and professionals (the very people who claim ‘costly mandates kill jobs’), which cost 53 cents per hour.
Additionally, the BLS estimate of hourly cost is similar to data presented in a 2009 report by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR) titled Valuing Good Health in New York City: The Costs and Benefits of Paid Sick Days. In that report, IWPR researchers estimate the average hourly cost at 21 cents per hour.
And this analysis doesn’t even include the research that shows businesses providing paid sick days may benefit from increases in productivity and employee morale.
Now that the BLS has released hard data proving the cost of providing paid sick days is, on average, less than 1% of total compensation, maybe the NFIB can ease up on the ‘job-killer’ rhetoric when talking about paid sick days.
More To Read
April 17, 2024
2023-24 Impact and Gratitude Report
Reflecting on a year of progress and transition at EOI
April 12, 2024
Welcoming our New Executive Director, Rian Watt!
EOI is excited to begin its next chapter under new leadership
April 4, 2024
Is There a Valid Argument Against Cost-Free College in Washington?
Cost-free college is a meaningful investment that would change lives. What's stopping Washington from making it happen?