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Can paid sick leave mandates reduce leave-taking?

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  • Stearns, Jenna
  • White, Corey

Abstract

Since 2006, several cities and states have implemented paid sick leave mandates. We examine the effects of paid sick leave mandates in Washington, D.C. (2008) and Connecticut (2011) on leave-taking behavior. After these policies are implemented, there are significant decreases in the aggregate rate of illness-related leave taking, relative to control groups, for both those directly affected and those not directly affected by the policy. The estimates are strong for Connecticut, but are more sensitive to the specification and weaken over time for D.C. We also find decreases in leave-taking when exploiting exogenous variation in access to paid sick leave through changes in local industry composition over time. Our results suggest that mandated sick leave policies can provide large positive public health externalities by allowing sick workers to stay home rather than coming to work and spreading their illness to customers and coworkers.

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  • Stearns, Jenna & White, Corey, 2018. "Can paid sick leave mandates reduce leave-taking?," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 227-246.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:labeco:v:51:y:2018:i:c:p:227-246
    DOI: 10.1016/j.labeco.2018.01.002
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    Cited by:

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    2. Maclean, J. Catherine & Pichler, Stefan & Ziebarth, Nicolas R., 2020. "Mandated Sick Pay: Coverage, Utilization, and Welfare Effects," IZA Discussion Papers 13132, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. Kieu‐Dung Nguyen & Van‐AnhThi Tran & Duc‐Thanh Nguyen, 2021. "Social insurance reform and absenteeism in Vietnam," International Journal of Social Welfare, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(2), pages 193-207, April.
    4. Corey White, 2021. "Measuring Social and Externality Benefits of Influenza Vaccination," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 56(3), pages 749-785.
    5. Bana, Sarah & Bedard, Kelly & Rossin-Slater, Maya & Stearns, Jenna, 2023. "Unequal use of social insurance benefits: The role of employers," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 233(2), pages 633-660.
    6. Annalisa Scognamiglio, 2020. "Paid Sick Leave and Employee Absences," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 34(3), pages 305-322, September.
    7. Adrienne Ohler & Adam Thorp, 2023. "A model of accrual rates for paid sick leave mandates," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 43(2), pages 769-783.
    8. Gonçalves, Judite & Rocha-Gomes, João & Amorim-Lopes, Mário & Martins, Pedro S., 2024. "What is (behind) the gender gap in sickness benefits? Evidence from administrative data," GLO Discussion Paper Series 1468, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    9. Cronin, C.J.; & Harris, M. C.; & Ziebarth, N. R.;, 2024. "The Anatomy of U.S. Sick Leave Schemes:Evidence from Public School Teachers," Health, Econometrics and Data Group (HEDG) Working Papers 24/10, HEDG, c/o Department of Economics, University of York.
    10. Stefan Pichler & Nicolas R. Ziebarth, 2020. "Labor Market Effects of U.S. Sick Pay Mandates," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 55(2), pages 611-659.
    11. Johanna Catherine Maclean & Sabrina Wulff Pabilonia, 2024. "Paid Sick Leave and Childcare," NBER Working Papers 32710, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    12. Johanna Catherine Maclean & Stefan Pichler & Nicolas R. Ziebarth, 2020. "Mandated Sick Pay: Coverage, Utilization, and Crowding-In," NBER Working Papers 26832, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    13. Jie Chen & Chad D. Meyerhoefer & Lizhong Peng, 2020. "The effects of paid sick leave on worker absenteeism and health care utilization," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 29(9), pages 1062-1070, September.
    14. Persson, Petra & Rossin-Slater, Maya, 2019. "When Dad Can Stay Home: Fathers' Workplace Flexibility and Maternal Health," IZA Discussion Papers 12386, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    15. Tanya Byker & Elena Patel & Shanthi Ramnath, 2023. "Who Cares? Paid Sick Leave Mandates, Care-Giving, and Gender," Working Paper Series WP 2023-14, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.
    16. Carlo Alberto Biscardo & Alessandro Bucciol & Paolo Pertile, 2019. "Job sick leave: Detecting opportunistic behavior," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 28(3), pages 373-386, March.
    17. Michelle M. Miller, 2022. "The impact of paid sick leave laws on consumer and business bankruptcies," Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 19(4), pages 844-896, December.
    18. Pichler, Stefan & Ziebarth, Nicolas R., 2024. "Sick Leave and Medical Leave in the United States: A Categorization and Recent Trends," IZA Policy Papers 206, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    19. Martin Andersen & Johanna Catherine Maclean & Michael F. Pesko & Kosali I. Simon, 2020. "Paid sick-leave and physical mobility: Evidence from the United States during a pandemic," NBER Working Papers 27138, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    20. Persson, Petra & Rossin-Slater, Maya, 2019. "When Dad Can Stay Home: Fathers’ Workplace Flexibility and Maternal Health," CEPR Discussion Papers 13780, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    21. Martin Halla & Susanne Pech & Martina Zweimüller, 2017. "The effect of statutory sick-pay on workers' labor supply and subsequent health," Working Papers 2017-04, Faculty of Economics and Statistics, Universität Innsbruck.
    22. Martin Andersen & Johanna Catherine Maclean & Michael F. Pesko & Kosali Simon, 2023. "Does paid sick leave encourage staying at home? Evidence from the United States during a pandemic," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(6), pages 1256-1283, June.
    23. Johanna Catherine Maclean & Ioana Popovici & Christopher J. Ruhm, 2023. "Does Paid Sick Leave Facilitate Reproductive Choice?," NBER Working Papers 31801, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Paid leave; Sick leave; Externality; Contagious;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
    • J33 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Compensation Packages; Payment Methods
    • J38 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Public Policy

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