States with Paid Sick Days
The United States is one of the only developed countries in the world that does not guarantee workers paid sick days, even for the flu! That’s a public health hazard for us all — you may earn paid sick days, but what about the person who makes your lunch, drives your kid’s school bus, cares for your aging relative? This policy failure also ignores all of the key evidence we have learned about paid sick days over the years, which demonstrates that it’s good for families, for businesses, and for the economy. We need paid sick days for all workers!
Here’s the good news. Over the past 10 years, Family Values @ Work coalitions and partners have won 34 campaigns to bring paid sick days to workers across the country. While the vast majority of these wins have taken place in local cities and counties, there are a handful of states that now provide guaranteed paid sick days:
- Connecticut
- California
- Massachusetts
- Oregon
- Vermont
In total, these wins have brought paid sick days to over 11 million workers across the country — and that doesn’t count the millions more who can now use the time to care for a sick family member, or use it without getting a demerit or some other discipline. If your state is not included in this list, you may have a city near you with paid sick days (or a city with additional benefits beyond what state law mandates). Currently, the 28 counties and municipalities with paid sick days include:
- Washington, DC
- Seattle, WA
- Portland, OR
- New York, NY
- Jersey City, NJ
- Newark, NJ
- San Diego, CA
- Passaic, NJ
- East Orange, NJ
- Paterson, NJ
- Irvington, NJ
- Oakland, CA
- Montclair, NJ
- Trenton, NJ
- Tacoma, WA
- Philadelphia, PA
- Bloomfield, NJ
- Emeryville, CA
- Montgomery County, MD
- Pittsburgh, PA
- Elizabeth, NJ
- New Brunswick, NJ
- Spokane, WA
- Santa Monica, CA
- Plainfield, NJ
- Minneapolis, MN
- Los Angeles, CA
- Chicago, IL
If you don’t see your city here, don’t fret! We are actively running several campaigns to bring guaranteed paid sick days to even more workers across the country. You can get in touch with your state’s coalition here. Ultimately, we need a national standard that provides paid sick days to all Americans, and Family Values @ Work is helping lead the charge. If you’d like to help us cover everyone in this country, please take action!
