Can't Afford to Get Sick

Workers should not have to choose between their health and their jobs. But the latest annual Community Service Society (CSS) survey reveals that among New York City's working poor 65 percent -- more than 220,000 workers -- get not a single paid sick day on the job. It's just another jarring reminder of the degree to which these New Yorkers are marginalized.

For the past five years, CSS has surveyed the opinions and attitudes of low-income New Yorkers. Our survey, titled "The Unheard Third," is the only regular poll of its kind in the nation that gauges the sentiments and policy preferences of low-income urban residents. Survey results can be accessed on CSS's website: www.cssny.org.

Despite the economic recovery of the past three years, poverty in the city remains stubbornly high. More than three million New Yorkers -- overwhelmingly Black and Latino residents -- live below or near the poverty line. These low-income New Yorkers comprise about 40 percent of the city's population. Their daily lives have little in common with the city's affluent or even its middle class residents.

No Paid Sick Days

Many of us take it for granted that we can stay home when we are ill or to care for a sick child or spouse. Sometimes you are bound to get sick. And when you do, it's probably in your interest and that of your employer, as well as your co-workers, that you stay home. But, for many low-wage workers who must put their personal health at risk or fear the loss of their job, staying at home is not an option.

Low-income workers are more likely than other wage groups to be employed by small firms -- businesses with less than 50 workers. The smaller the size of the firm, the less likely that its workers get job benefits such as paid sick days and health insurance.

Staying home is
not an option

The lack of health insurance compounds problems facing low-income workers without paid sick days. Our survey found that one-third of low-income workers were uninsured for all or part of the previous year. Without paid sick days or health insurance, workers often must go to their jobs even while ill and, in the process, risk turning minor ailments into serious health problems.

CSS research found this situation among non-union private security guards, workers entrusted with protecting some of the city's most valuable commercial buildings. And, frighteningly the people who prepare and serve food in restaurants often do so while sick. The New York City Restaurant Industry Coalition found that 84 percent of restaurant workers got no paid sick leave and 73 percent had no health insurance. Most of these workers cannot afford to pay the premiums even if their employers offer health insurance.

The findings of the survey dovetail with CSS's most recent report on poverty in New York City that brought to light the growing numbers of single-mother head-of-household families that comprise a larger share of the city's working poor. Most single working mothers are denied even one day's paid sick leave.

Because parents working low-wage jobs without sick days often cannot take time off, their children go to school ill when they should be home. The result is that they jeopardize the health of their classmates. To make matters worse, the survey found that nearly half of low-income, single working mothers have less than $100 in savings to fall back on in case of illness, loss of job, or other emergency.

A Public Health Hazard

Sick children in school, security guards ill on the job, ailing restaurant workers handling food -- what we have here is a public health hazard. And the respondents in our survey recognize the magnitude of the problem. Seven out of ten New Yorkers in all income groups support a law requiring employers to provide paid time off for sickness. Last month, voters in San Francisco approved a similar measure, giving workers one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked.

These attitudes are aligned with proposed federal legislation -- the Healthy Families Act. This bill -- being sponsored by Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA) and Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) -- would require employers with at least 15 employees to provide seven days of paid sick leave annually.

Our survey confirms a growing consensus among the public that all workers are entitled to paid leave for illness. The experience in San Francisco and the proposed Healthy Families Act in Congress should motivate us to do likewise in New York. No one should have to choose between the health concerns of their children or themselves and holding onto their jobs. This should be a priority issue for Mayor Bloomberg as well as the incoming governor, Eliot Spitzer.

From the New York Amsterdam News
December 14 - 20, 2006