Sick and Safe Leave
Sick and safe leave refers to paid leave for employees to care for themselves or a family member during a temporary, short-term medical issue, such as illness; to attend to a critical safety need, such as domestic violence or sexual assault recovery; or for preventative health care, such as an annual well visit or a prenatal doctor appointment.
Benefits to EmployersFootnote # 1
- Increases productivity
- Does not lower profits
- Increases retention, reducing turnover costs
- Reduces employee absenteeism
- Provides healthier work environment
- Reduces health care costs
- Workers recover from temporary disability, illness or injury more quickly
- Increases loyalty
Benefits to ChildrenFootnote # 2,Footnote # 3
- Encourages use of preventative health care
- Children recover more quickly from illness and injury when parents are available to care for them
- Lowers risk for flu and other illnesses by encouraging children to stay home until they are well
- Allows workers to care for themselves and their children while in crisis situations, when children and parent health and well-being can be severely impacted. For example, children who experience domestic violence face a host of short- and long-term health issues, and safe leave removes concerns about losing a job while trying to leave a violent spouse or partner.
Benefits to Parents/FamiliesFootnote # 4,Footnote # 5
- Encourages use of preventative health care
- Workers recover from disability, illness, or injury more quickly
- Lowers risk for flu and other illnesses by encouraging parents to stay home until they or their children are well
- Allows workers to care for themselves and their children while in crisis situations, when children and parent health and well-being can be severely impacted. For example, children who experience domestic violence face a host of short- and long-term health issues, and safe leave removes concerns about losing a job while trying to leave a violent spouse or partner.
Research or Recommendations from National Organizations
Access to paid sick leave saves lives, according to a 2022 study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Workers paid sick days are more likely to access preventative health care services, and each additional hour of mandated paid sick leave is associated with a significant reduction in mortality due to suicide and homicide for men, and for homicide and alcohol-related deaths for women. Footnote # 6
While it does not provide a recommended amount, the American Medical Association strongly encourages private employers to offer paid sick and medical leave and allow employees to use that leave to care for children when they are sick. Footnote # 7 The American Public Health Association has also issued a statement of support for national paid sick leave.Footnote # 8
Range of Practices in the United States
Nearly one in five employees - and three in five low-wage employees - do not have access to paid sick leave through their employer. Footnote # 9
Family violence often occurs from stress related to economic insecurity and lack of supportive
workplace policies. Find out how employers can help prevent family violence and build
stronger communities by adopting a variety of workplace policies such as a family-sustaining
wage and paid leave.
A 2017 Bloomberg BNA survey shows that 37 percent of employers who offer sick leave have policies that include safe leave for victims of crimes, domestic violence, assault, or stalking.Footnote # 10
Eleven states have enacted paid safe leave laws. North Carolina does not have a safe leave law but does mandate that employers provide “a reasonable period of leave” for victims of domestic violence to obtain a court order or obtain relief. Under the NC statute, leave does not need to be paid.
The US is one of the few developed, industrialized nations that does not require paid sick leave by federal law, leaving millions of workers with no choice but to go to work while sick or stay home unpaid and risk losing their jobs.
Eighteen states, along with 33 jurisdictions and the District of Columbia, have a law requiring employers to offer paid sick leave to employees. Other states, such as Georgia and Minnesota, have a “kin care law” that requires employers who offer paid sick leave to their employees to allow employees to use that time to care for family members. Neither the state of North Carolina nor any jurisdictions within the state have a sick leave law or a kin care law. Footnote # 11
Family violence often occurs from stress related to economic insecurity and lack of supportive
workplace policies. Find out how employers can help prevent family violence and build
stronger communities by adopting a variety of workplace policies such as a family-sustaining
wage and paid leave.
Case Study
Location: Greensboro
Number of Employees: 30
As a family-owned business with a strong focus on work-life balance, Thompson Traders has prioritized creating a supportive environment for its employees. But when the company learned about the opportunity to become a Family Forward NC Certified Employer, they saw it as a chance to solidify their commitment further and set themselves apart in a competitive job market.
Thompson Traders brings the beauty and craftsmanship of Mexico to American homes with its hand-hammered sinks, bathtubs and accessories. The Thompson family founded the Greensboro company more than 20 years ago, who drew inspiration from their Mexican heritage and love of handcrafted products. Today, the business is run by six family members spanning three generations; employing more than 30 people in the U.S. and manufacturing in eight countries around the world.
Becoming a Family Forward NC Certified Employer has allowed the company to live out its values, creating a supportive environment that appeals to current and prospective employees.
“We were already doing many of the things that the certification requires,” says Clifford Thompson, president of Thompson Traders. “We’ve always had a flexible and family-friendly culture, so it felt like the right step to formalize these practices.”
Steven Hewett, the company’s warehouse manager, has worked for Thompson Traders for ten years. At one point, his wife, also worked at the company’s customer service and the Accounts Receivable (AR) departments. With two kids (ages 9 and 5), they both enjoyed the family-friendly environment.
When she was breastfeeding, she used the lactation room; and if one of their kids was sick at home, they would tag-team work hours, so their child wouldn’t be left home alone. They also felt welcomed to take their kids to work, if there were any daycare issues.
“If you have a problem, it feels like you’re talking to a family member,” Hewett says. “They always listen to me. Their doors are always open.”
The team’s only minor hurdle was formalizing their employee handbook, but they used Handbooks (a handbook builder to create employee handbooks with updated federal, state and local policies) to get everything straightened out. Filling out the application inspired them to make changes to their lactation room to ensure it gave breastfeeding employees everything they needed to support their baby’s health and well-being.
With the certification process complete, Thompson Traders has proactively highlighted its family-friendly policies and benefits in its marketing and recruitment efforts. The company features the certification on its website and social media channels, and has found it to be a valuable selling point when attracting new talent.
“We had a new team member join us in customer service a couple of months ago, and we told her about this and that was important to her,” Thompson says. “She has a young child and needs the flexibility we could offer,” Thompson says.
Thompson Traders has also been intentional about offering benefits that support work-life balance, including 100% coverage of employee healthcare premiums, paid time off and a unique loan program to help workers meet unexpected financial needs. So far, about 70 percent of employees have used the loan program.
Hewett has taken out three loans – two to pay for car repairs; and the other was when he needed extra money to pay for closing costs on a home. He said it was a much better experience than trying to take out a loan from a bank.
“They are very accomodating because you can tell them how much you want taken out of your paycheck each month to pay back the loan,” Hewett says. “You don’t have to worry about missing a payment or paying any kind of late fee because it automatically drafts from your paycheck. They don’t hesitate to help and it has given me peace of mind.”
Clifford Thompson is proud to offer this loan program and encourages fellow business leaders to do the same.
“We know that it can be hard to accumulate wealth,” Thompsons says. “People live in a cycle of paycheck-to-paycheck, but offering a no-interest loan for ten months can give our employees a little bit of a breather.”
Learn more about becoming a Family Forward NC Certified Employer here.
Sample Benefits:
- Paid sick leave and vacation leave
- Lactation room
- Medical: Pays 100% of the employee’s premium and a portion of dependents; contributes $600 annually to each employee’s Health Savings Account (HSA)
- Remote and flexible scheduling
- Employee loan program
- 401K retirement savings plan, with plans to introduce employer-matching contribution in the future