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Critics of legislation requiring employers to provide paid sick days frequently argue that these measures will lead to job loss and raise the national unemployment rate. However, this issue brief shows that the experience of 22 countries with the highest level of social and economic development (as measured by the Human Development Index) suggests that there is no statistically significant relationship between national unemployment rates and legally-mandated access to paid sick days and leave.

This report finds that the U.S. is the only country among 22 countries ranked highly in terms of economic and human development that does not guarantee that workers receive paid sick days or paid sick leave. Under current U.S. labor law, employers are not required to provide short-term paid sick days or longer-term paid sick leave. By relying solely on voluntary employer policies to provide paid sick days or leave to employees, tens of millions of U.S. workers are without paid sick days or leave. As a result, each year millions of American workers go to work sick, lowering productivity and potentially spreading illness to their coworkers and customers.

1. The Struggle Below the Surface: Declining Working Conditions 1. - Part I: Examining the Contentions Feeding Inaction . - 2. The Argument that Humane Working Conditions lead to Higher Unemployment 23. - 3. The Contention that Countries Can't Complete if they Protect Working Adults 46. - 4. The Myth that Labor Laws Do Not Make a Difference 70. - Part II: Requirements for Change . - 5. Achieving Global Consensus 89. - 6. Addressing Where the World Lags Behind 121. - 7. Moving from Evidence to Action: Raising the Floor of Working Conditions and Equity 147

The United States does not guarantee families a wide range of supportive workplace policies such as paid maternity and paternity leave or paid leave to care for sick children. Proposals to provide such benefits are invariably met with the complaint that the costs would reduce employment and undermine the international competitiveness of American businesses. In this article, Alison Earle, Zitha Mokomane, and Jody Heymann explore whether paid leave and other work-family policies that support children's development exist in countries that are economically competitive and have low unemployment rates. Their data show that the answer is yes.

Using indicators of competitiveness gathered by the World Economic Forum, the authors identify fifteen countries, including the United States, that have been among the top twenty countries in competitiveness rankings for at least eight of ten years. To this group they add China and India, both rising competitors in the global economy. They find that every one of these countries, except the United States, guarantees some form of paid leave for new mothers as well as annual leave. And all but Switzerland and the United States guarantee paid leave for new fathers.

The authors perform a similar exercise to identify thirteen advanced countries with consistently low unemployment rates, again including the United States. The majority of these countries provide paid leave for new mothers, paid leave for new fathers, paid leave to care for children's health care needs, breast-feeding breaks, paid vacation leave, and a weekly day of rest. Of these, the United States guarantees only breast-feeding breaks (part of the recently passed health care legislation).

The authors' global examination of the most competitive economies as well as the economies with low unemployment rates makes clear that ensuring that all parents are available to care for their children's healthy development does not preclude a country from being highly competitive economically.

Resumen.Es necesario que los poderes públicos nacionales que acarician la posibilidad de implantar o reformar la licencia remunerada por enfermedad conozcan los métodos que se usan para costear esta prestación. Basándose en datos mundiales sobre la legislación al respecto, los autores infieren que el tipo de régimen vigente—responsabilidad del empresario, seguro social, asistencia social o una mezcla de ellos—influye mucho en la duración y cuantía de la prestación. Sin embargo, no hallan ninguna relación estrecha de la duración y la generosidad de la licencia por enfermedad con indicadores económicos como el PIB por habitante, la tasa de desempleo o la competitividad nacional. Por último, los autores estudian los instrumentos capaces de garantizar una licencia eficaz y un rendimiento económico óptimo.

Résumé.Les responsables politiques qui envisagent d'instituer ou de réformer le congé de maladie ont besoin d'en comprendre les mécanismes de financement possibles. Partant de données mondiales, les auteurs observent que la durée et la générosité de l'indemnisation dépendent du modèle utilisé– responsabilité de l'employeur, assurance sociale, assistance sociale, ou une combinaison des trois –, mais ils ne relèvent aucun lien significatif avec les indicateurs économiques tels que PIB par habitant, taux de chômage ou compétitivité nationale. Ils envisagent aussi les mécanismes politiques propices à l'efficacité du congé de maladie et à la solidité des résultats économiques.

Abstract.Decision‐makers in countries considering adoption or reform of paid sick leave policies need to understand the mechanisms used to finance sick leave provision. Using global data on sick leave legislation, the authors find the type of model used – employer liability, social insurance, social assistance, or a combination thereof – has significant implications for the duration and generosity of sickness benefits. However, they find no significant relationship between the duration or generosity of sick leave and economic indicators such as per capita GDP, unemployment rates, or national competitiveness. Potential mechanisms enabling both effective sick leave policies and strong economic outcomes are discussed.