News Room » Press Kits » Paid Sick Days

Nearly half of private sector workers in the U.S. have no paid sick days, and 94 million working people do not have paid sick days to care for a sick child or family member.

This means that American workers are being forced to choose between their loved ones and their paychecks when illness strikes.

There is a solution on the horizon. The Healthy Families Act, co-sponsored by U.S. Senator Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA) and Representative Rosa L. DeLauro (D-CT), would guarantee seven paid sick days per year for full-time employees, and a pro-rata number for part-time employees. It would guarantee paid sick days to recover from an illness, to care for a sick family member or to attend doctor visits. The National Partnership is leading a coalition to ensure that American workers no longer have to choose between their health and their families’ well-being.

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Press Materials

• Paid Sick Days Will Improve Nation’s Health, New Study Shows
• Nation’s Top Work/Family Expert Applauds Introduction of Paid Sick Days Legislation
• Stay Home with Swine Flu Symptoms? Not Without Paid Sick Days
• Milwaukee Becomes Third City in U.S. to Guarantee Paid Sick Days
• Paid Sick Days Coalition Website Wins 2008 Interactive Media Award
• D.C. Becomes Second City in U.S. to Guarantee Paid Sick Days
• Thousands of Americans to Rally Online for Paid Sick Days

More Information

• The Healthy Families Act: A Health Impact Assessment
•  Read a summary of Findings
•  Read the Full Report
• Local Campaigns Across the Country
• Fact Sheet: Why the Healthy Families Act is Good for Working Families
• Fact Sheet: Why the Healthy Families Act is Good for Business
• Get Well Soon: Americans Can't Afford to be Sick 
• Get Well Soon: Americans Can't Afford to be Sick (Summary)
• Visit http://www.paidsickdays.org/
• About the National Partnership for Women & Families  

Recent News

• Too Sick to Work? That's Simply Too Bad (July 5, 2009 Star Tribune)
• NYC could mandate sick days (July 2, 2009 Associated Press)
• Sick days help halt spread of disease (June 28, 2009 Denver Post)
• Don't want swine flu with lunch? Then offer paid sick leave (June 18, 2009 New York Daily News)
• Paid Sick Days, a Luxury in the U.S. (June 2009 Poder 360)
• Report: Paid Sick Leave Doesn’t Hurt Economy (June 13, 2009 AFL-CIO NOW Blog)
• Sick-Leave Lives Despite Milwaukee Ruling (June 12, 2009 Daily Reporter)
• Trying Times Call for Healthy Families Act (June 8, 2009 Women's eNews)
• Let Sick Workers Stay Home (June 6, 2009 Boston Globe)
• Staying Home When Sick Might Be Wise (May 27, 2009 Forbes)
• Bill Would Guarantee Up to 7 Paid Sick Days (May 15, 2009 New York Times)
• A Case for Paid Sick Days (May 15, 2009 San Francisco Chronicle)
• Swine Flu or Not, Many Workers Can't Stay Home (May 1, 2009 Associated Press)