Johnson Candice Y, Said Kristen, Price Ashley E, Darcey Dennis, Østbye Truls
Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA.
Am J Ind Med. 2022 Sep;65(9):743-748. doi: 10.1002/ajim.23417. Epub 2022 Jul 23.
Inequities in US employees' access to paid sick leave are known, but it is not clear whether they are increasing or decreasing over time. More than two dozen state and local paid sick leave laws were recently enacted, many with the stated goal of reducing inequities in access to paid sick leave. We examined how inequities in access to paid sick leave have changed over time, focusing on the years when these laws were coming into effect.
Private sector employees participating in the National Health Interview Survey between 2006 (before laws came into effect) and 2018 (after most came into effect) reported if they had paid sick leave in their main job. We examined how differences in access to paid sick leave by Census region, race/ethnicity, work hours, and educational attainment changed over time.
The percentage of employees with access to paid sick leave increased from 56% in 2006 to 61% in 2018, with most of the increases in access occurring in the West. Inequities by race/ethnicity decreased substantially between 2015 and 2018, the years when most paid sick leave laws came into effect. This change was driven by Hispanic and Latino workers rapidly gaining access to paid sick leave during this time. Differences in access to paid sick leave by work hours and education attainment remained stable over time.
Inequities in access to paid sick leave remain. Paid sick leave laws could be effective means to increase access to paid sick leave and equalize access.
美国员工在获得带薪病假方面存在不平等现象，这是已知的，但尚不清楚这种不平等现象随着时间的推移是在增加还是减少。最近有二十多项州和地方法规颁布实施，其中许多法规宣称目标是减少带薪病假获取方面的不平等。我们研究了带薪病假获取方面的不平等现象随时间的变化情况，重点关注这些法规生效的年份。
参与2006年（法规生效前）至2018年（大多数法规生效后）全国健康访谈调查的私营部门员工报告了他们在主要工作中是否有带薪病假。我们研究了按人口普查区域、种族/族裔、工作时长和教育程度划分的带薪病假获取差异如何随时间变化。
有带薪病假的员工比例从2006年的56%增至2018年的61%，其中大部分获取机会的增加发生在西部。2015年至2018年期间，即大多数带薪病假法规生效的年份，种族/族裔方面的不平等现象大幅减少。这一变化是由西班牙裔和拉丁裔工人在此期间迅速获得带薪病假推动的。工作时长和教育程度在带薪病假获取方面的差异随时间保持稳定。
带薪病假获取方面的不平等现象依然存在。带薪病假法规可能是增加带薪病假获取机会并实现获取机会均等的有效手段。
