Portland is currently considering new sick-leave rules that would require companies to provide at least 5 days of sick leave per employee per year. This seems like a measure that just makes sense… after all, do you want to work with someone who is contagious? Do you want your employees coming to work and infecting their co-workers, sending them home sick in another few days? Do you really want to eat in a restaurant where your preparers and servers are dripping bacterial goo into your bento? Thought not.
Responsible companies already make allowances for sick leave, and this ordinance would 
simply force the laggards to play on a level playing field. As a company we’ve signed on to the coalition of groups supporting the change, and we’re behind it. But then we realized that few issues can have such a direct impact on your daily health and professional life as this one, and maybe the logic of the proposal isn’t as self-evident as we’d like to believe. In this month’s Health Notes we’ll look at the proposed new rules, as well as the costs of a condition you may not have heard of before… “presenteeism”.
If you’d like to get involved with Portland’s Campaign for Earned Sick Days, or if you’d like more information on some point we missed, please contact EverybodyBenefitsOregon.org or EverybodyBenefitsPDX.org.
FAQ’s from Portland’s Campaign for Earned Sick Days
Would this policy affect my Portland business?
- The policy applies to employees who work within the geographic boundaris of the city for 240 hours or more in a calendar year. If you already allow employees to accrue 5 or more paid sick days, PTO, or paid vacation that can be used without notice for sick purposes, you already meet the proposed minimum and you will not be affected
What does the law require?
If you employ 5 or fewer people,
- Full and Part time employees would accrue one hour of unpaid (but job-protected) sick time for every 30 hours worked, up to 40 hrs/yr maximum.
- It would be illegal to fire or retaliate against someone for taking earned sick time.
- You would need to track employees’ sick day usage consistent with current standards.
- You may exceed this standard if you wish, but you won’t be required to.
For 6 or more employees,
- Full and Part time employees would accrue one hour of paid (and job-protected) sick time for every 30 hours worked, up to 40 hrs/yr maximum.
- It would be illegal to fire or retaliate against someone for taking earned sick time.
- You would need to track employees’ sick day usage consistent with current standards.
- You may exceed this standard if you wish, but you won’t be required to.
Does the sick time accrue year-to-year or pay out on termination?
- Unused time can roll over to a new year, but you never have to pay an employee for more than 40 hours of sick time in a calendar year. You do not have to pay out unused time on termination.
Does PTO count?
- If your PTO policy meets the minimum requirements of the policy, then your PTO counts.
Are temporary employees included?
- The law applies to any employees working more than 240 hours in a year in Portland
What if I have locations inside and outside of Portland?
- The law only applies to employees that work 240 hours in a year in Portland
What safeguards are there against possible employee abuse?
- You may send an employee home and require they use their sick time if they are obviously sick when they come to work.
- Shift-trading is allowed if it takes place in the same or next pay period, and is mutually agreed on by employer and employee. However, you can’t require that the employee find a replacement before taking their sick time.
- If there is a pattern of abuse of more than 3 consecutive days, you can require a doctor’s note before any paid or unpaid leave is approved. However, you’ll have to pay the costs of obtaining that note. You can also get the employee to provide a signed statement of their own that the time off was for a purpose covered by the ordinance.
How likely is employee abuse?
- Findings from San Francisco and other places show that abuse is rare. Nationally, employees who have sick time use 2.2 days/year in small companies and 3.1 days in large ones. In San Francisco, workers take a median of 3 sick days/year, even when they have more available to them.
If you want to do deeper than the FAQ’s, then these booklets and articles can help…
- Understanding Earned Sick Time in Portland- A Guide for Businesses from Main Street Alliance of Portland
- Evaluating Paid Sick Time: Social Economic, and Health Implications for Portland from from theFamily Forward Education Fund
- Flu season fuels debate over paid sick time laws from PostBulletin.com
- Fact Sheet: Paid Sick Days- Paid Sick Days Work for U.S. Employees and Employers
From The Center for American Progress
- Myth vs. Fact- Paid Sick Days From Center for American Progress
- Companies would benefit By Offering Better Kid Sick Day Policies To Employees from Forbes
These groups are working to implement sick leave policy locally and nationwide…
- The Main Street Alliance
- The Main Street Alliance of Oregon
- Institute for Women’s Policy Research
- National Partnership for Women & Families
What about the phenomenon of “presenteeism” we mentioned? It’s when employees come to work when they’re sick or injured enough that they should be staying home, but they come in because they are worried about their job or can’t make ends meet without that day’s pay. Employers are just beginning to recognize and calculate the costs of employees coming in when they’re sick, and those costs are pretty high…
- The Cost of Presenteeism, Patricial Pickett, About.com
- The Hidden Costs of Presenteeism: Causes and Solutions, Patricia Schaefer, BusinessKnowHow.com
- Presenteeism and Paid Sick Days, Jodie Levin-Epstein, Center for Law ans Social Policy
- Clear Presenteeism Danger, Philip Landau, The Guardian
- New Findings and Realistic Solutions to Employee Presenteeism– A white paper from the Health Enhancement Research Organization
And we’ll wrap things up with this in-depth infographic from Main Street Alliance, showing all the stats and info you’ll need to be the hit of any Sick Day Policy Implementation party. We know it’s too small to see here, but just click this link to go to the full-size, downloadable version.
