The Health Benefits of Paid Sick Leave Reach Farther Than You Think

<p>Most office workers think of paid sick leave as a benefit for them and their family members, but there are societal benefits to paid sick leave as well.</p><p>Since 1993, the United States has guaranteed access to unpaid sick leave through the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) but that guarantee leaves out a large number of workers. A growing number of US states and localities have sought to fill-in some gaps of the FMLA, but many remain.</p><p>Jody Heymann from the <a href="https://ph.ucla.edu/">University of California, Los Angeles</a> joins <em>A Health Podyssey</em> to talk about access to sick leave, both paid and unpaid.</p><p>Heymann and colleagues published a paper in the September 2021 issue of <em>Health Affairs </em><a href="https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/full/10.1377/hlthaff.2021.00731">documenting how FMLA eligibility requirements contribute to racial and ethnic disparities</a>. They found that FMLA eligibility restrictions exclude over half of private sector and self-employed workers from coverage. In addition, they found higher rates of exclusion among female black, Indigenous and multi-racial workers.</p><p>Join the conversation and listen as <em>Health Affairs </em>Editor-in-Chief Alan Weil interviews Jody Heymann about why the US stands alone globally in having such a limited safety net for sick leave — and what it means for population health.</p><p>If you like this interview, <a href="https://www.pubservice.com/backissue/subbi.aspx?CO=PJ&amp;PC=HR&amp;BI=HRI&amp;utm_medium=podcast&amp;utm_source=podcast&amp;utm_campaign=september2021issue">order the September issue of <em>Health Affairs</em>.</a></p><p><a href="https://www.pubservice.com/backissue/subbi.aspx?CO=PJ&amp;PC=HR&amp;BI=HRI&amp;utm_medium=podcast&amp;utm_campaign=october2021issue">Order the October Perinatal Mental Health Theme Issue</a>.</p><p>Subscribe: <a href="https://feeds.transistor.fm/a-health-podyssey">RSS</a> | <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a-health-podyssey/id1533852530">Apple Podcasts</a>