Best of the Paid Sick Leave Benefits Vary Widely Across Nation
Obama pushes for paid sick leave for contractors as some private employers lag.
— -- While President Obama is paving the way for 300,000 federal contractors to earn paid sick leave, U.S. states and municipalities vary widely when it comes to whether they encourage employers to mandate paid sick leave.
As of Aug. 1, four states and more than 20 municipalities have passed paid sick leave laws that affect private employers, according to XpertHR, an online resource for human resources professionals. But more than 43 million people, about 39 percent of private-sector U.S. employees, don't have access to paid sick leave, according to the National Partnership for Women and Families.
The good news for employees is that the number of paid sick leave laws has more than doubled in the past year, according to XpertHR, and that legal landscape is going to change with new laws that will take effect next year in places like Oregon; Tacoma, Washington; and Montgomery County, Maryland.
Here's a snapshot of some of the paid sick leave laws around the country:
California:
A California employer with even one employee must provide paid sick leave if that person works 30 days in the state for the same employer in one year. Ellen Bravo, executive director of Family Values at Work, said the strongest paid sick leave policies are in San Francisco and Oakland. In San Francisco, employers with fewer than 10 employees may not cap sick leave accrual below 48 hours or six days of sick leave. In Oakland, employees need to work only two hours per week sometimes to be eligible for paid sick leave.
Indiana:
Indiana state law has banned local governments from mandating paid sick leave, one of a dozen states that are pre-empting moves by municipalities.
Maryland
Bravo said Montgomery County, Maryland, has among the strongest policies regarding paid sick leave. The county's model allows workers in larger firms (five or more employees) to earn up to seven paid sick days, and those in smaller firms earn four paid and three unpaid days.
Michigan:
In June, Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder and Republican lawmakers passed the Local Government Labor Regulatory Limitation Act, which prohibits local municipalities from requiring employers to pay more than the minimum wage, provide paid or unpaid leave and other benefits that exceed state or federal requirements. The union-based Time to Care Coalition is trying to collect signatures for a 2016 ballot proposal that requires workers to provide paid sick leave.
New Jersey:
About 9 municipalities in New Jersey have paid sick time laws that cover about 150,000 workers, according to The Associated Press, and at least three more towns are scheduled to consider news laws. Gov. Chris Christie has criticized some of the measures, saying they should not be mandated by the government.
In Jersey City, New Jersey, starting last year, employers must provide a specific number of paid sick leave depending on how big the firm is. Employees with nine or fewer workers can earn one hour of unpaid sick leave per 30 hours worked, with a maximum of 40 hours annually. At firms with 10 or more people, employees there must work more than 80 hours in a year to qualify for paid sick leave, whether they are full or part-time employees.
In Newark, employers with just one employee must provide paid sick leave to that person.