Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/141468 
Year of Publication: 
2016
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 9709
Publisher: 
Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
This paper profiles the sick leave landscape in the US – the only industrialized country without universal access to paid sick leave or other forms of paid leave. We exploit the 2011 Leave Supplement of the American Time Use Survey (ATUS), a representative and comprehensive database on sick leave in the US. The two binary outcome variables measure (i) access to paid sick leave and (ii) suppressed sick leave ("presenteeism"). Thirty-five percent of US full-time employees lack access to paid sick leave. Low-income employees, service sector employees, and those in poor health have the lowest coverage rates. We estimate that, each week, up to three million US employees suppress their need for sick leave and engage in presenteeism behavior. These are primarily women with children and low-wage sector jobs.
Subjects: 
gender inequality
low-income employees
unpaid leave
medical leave
paid leave
sick leave
presenteeism
US
JEL: 
I12
I13
I18
J22
J28
J32
Document Type: 
Working Paper

Files in This Item:
File
Size
668.09 kB





Items in EconStor are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.