1. CONTAGION NATION P AID S ICK L EAVE IN THE U NITED S TATES AND A ROUND THE W ORLD Jody Heymann, M.D., PhD Founding Director McGill Institute for Health and Social Policy

2. A MERICANS : S TAY H OME W HEN S ICK “If you are sick with a flu- like illness, stay home for 7 days after your symptoms begin or until you have been symptom-free for 24 hours, whichever is longer.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Guidelines for H1N1 Flu “I've asked every American to take the same steps you would take to prevent any other flu: Keep your hands washed; cover your mouth when you cough; stay home from work if you're sick ; and keep your children home from school if they're sick.” April 29, 2009 White House Photo/Chuck Kennedy

3. W HY C ARE ABOUT S ICK L EAVE ? If you go to work : CDC recommends that Americans with influenza stay home when sick Influenza leads to 200,000 hospitalizations and over 36,000 deaths in an average year Vulnerability highlighted by recent outbreak of H1N1 influenza At least 20 million Americans go to work sick because of a lack of sick leave

4. W HY C ARE ABOUT S ICK L EAVE ? If you eat at restaurants: When food service workers are able to stay home when sick, they are less likely to pass on their illnesses to customers If you have a child: When parents lack paid sick days, they are more likely to send their sick children to day care or school If you have a loved one in a nursing home: Nursing homes that provide employees with paid sick days have lower rates of respiratory and gastrointestinal illnesses among their patients

5. W HERE DOES THE U.S. S TAND ?

6. S HORT -T ERM S ICK L EAVE P OLICIES : F IVE -D AY F LU Among 22 affluent countries : 17 countries provide at least 1 day’s worth of pay 14 countries provide over 3 days’ worth of pay 11 countries pay all 5 days The United States guarantees 0 paid sick days for short-term illnesses

7. L ONG -T ERM S ICK L EAVE P OLICIES : C ANCER If a worker is absent for 50 working days, such as for cancer treatment, almost all affluent countries ensure pay during this leave 5 countries provide at least 40 days’ worth of pay 11 countries provide 20-40 days’ worth of pay 5 countries provide 5-20 days’ worth of pay In many of these countries, paid sick leave available to low-wage workers is even more generous The United States is the only one of these countries with no guaranteed paid sick leave

8. FIGURE 1 Paid Sick Days and Leave in 22 Countries, Worker at Median Earnings (Full-time equivalent working days)

9. FIGURE 2 Paid Sick Days and Leave in 22 Countries, Worker at Half the Median Earnings (Full-time equivalent working days)

10. C AN THE U.S. AFFORD IT ?

11. Top 4 most economically competitive countries (as ranked by World Economic Forum 2008-09): Switzerland, Sweden, Denmark, United States Short-term leave: The Flu All but the U.S. provide at least 3 paid days of leave Switzerland and Denmark provide a full 5 days’ pay Long-term leave: Cancer All but the U.S. provide at least 15 paid days of leave Sweden and Denmark provide over 35 days’ pay W HAT ABOUT THE MOST ECONOMICALLY COMPETITIVE COUNTRIES ?