Sickleave

Sick leave (or paid sick days or sick pay) is time off from work that workers can use to stay home to address their health and safety needs without losing pay. Paid sick leave is a statutory requirement in many nations. Most European, many Latin American, a few African and a few Asian countries have legal requirements for paid sick leave. The Book of Leviticus prescribed (7) days of medical isolation for a skin condition in chapter 13. Already in 1500 BCE, at least some of the workers who built the tombs of Egyptian pharaohs received paid sick leave as well as state-supported health care.

In nations without laws mandating paid sick leave, some employers choose to offer it. Those that do offer sick leave do so as a matter of workplace policy or because it is in some or all of the employees' employment contracts or required by a collective bargaining agreement. Currently, six US states (Arizona, California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Oregon, Vermont); 23 US cities; and two US counties (Montgomery County, MD and San Francisco County, CA) have laws mandating paid sick leave. Currently, there are additional US city, county and state jurisdictions with proposed legislation to enact paid sick leave. Three cities, one county and one state have sick leaves that become effective July 1, 2017.

Paid sick days (also referred to as sick leave or paid sick leave) guarantee workers paid time off to stay home when they are sick. Some policies also allow paid sick time to be used to care for sick family members, to attend routine doctor or medical appointments, or to address health and safety needs related to domestic violence or sexual assault.

At least 145 countries ensure access to paid sick days for short- or long-term illnesses, with 127 providing a week or more annually.

An analysis from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) finds that around 39 percent of American workers in the private sector do not have paid sick leave. Around 79 percent of workers in low-wage industries do not have paid sick time. Most food service and hotel workers (78 percent) lack paid sick days.

One survey reports that 77 percent of Americans believe that having paid sick days is "very important" for workers. Some workers report that they or a family member have been fired or suspended for missing work due to illness.

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