An airline agent working with passengers used hand sanitizer at Tampa International Airport on Monday.
Photo: Douglas R. Clifford/Zuma PressThe 33.6 million U.S. workers with no access to sick leave would face a dilemma should they get sick during the coronavirus epidemic: stay at home and see paychecks shrink, or go to work and create health risks.
Unlike many industrialized countries, U.S. workers aren’t guaranteed pay when they take off from work due to an illness. Economists and labor experts say that poses challenges for workers and employers in situations where sick pay isn’t offered, or when workers are penalized for extended work absences.
“For many individuals, they can’t afford not to go to work,” said Christopher Ruhm, a professor of public policy and economics at the University of Virginia.
The jobs they hold—including food preparation, housekeeping, cleaning, driving and running cash registers—also have a high level of contact with the public, meaning their risk of exposure to the virus is higher.
About 86% of U.S. workers were employed in service industries last year, up from about 60% in the 1950s, as jobs in health care and hospitality have surged in recent decades.
Industries with workers in those categories said they are working to ensure sick workers feel comfortable staying at home.
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The National Retail Federation, an industry trade group, is communicating with the Centers for Disease Control and passing along updates to members. Last week the federation told members that “sick leave policies need to be flexible....It may be necessary to develop an emergency sick leave policy.”
“The coronavirus has a unique quarantine and recovery period that transcends the traditional policy debates surrounding paid sick leave,” said Jeff Solsby, spokesman National Restaurant Association.
Access to paid sick leave is strongly correlated to income.
While 73% of workers in the private sector in 2019 had paid sick leave, according to the Labor Department, fewer than half in the bottom 25% of wages had access to it. That compares with 90% who have paid sick leave among the highest quarter of earners.
Moreover, working from home might be feasible for many white-collar workers but isn’t possible for many blue-collar, service-industry jobs.
Missing a paycheck due to illness could drive many households deep into the red. The Federal Reserve estimates that roughly a quarter of adults skipped medical care in 2018 because they were unable to pay, and almost 40% of Americans said they didn’t have enough cash on hand to cover an unexpected $400 expense.
“The impact of the coronavirus will be disproportionate,” said Sung Won Sohn, an economist at Loyola-Marymount University in Los Angeles. “People who are not very well off will be the hardest hit.”
Lower-wage workers in restaurants, stores and hotels are at greatest risk of losing their jobs, he said, because those industries would be most affected by a downturn in consumer spending if people fear leaving their homes. Those who remain employed, but get sick and miss work, may not be paid.
Companies are evaluating sick-leave policies and focusing on prevention, including improving work-place hygiene and sending a message that ill employees shouldn’t attend work, said Scott Hamilton, global managing director at human-resources consulting firm Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.
Mr. Hamilton said companies that knowingly allow an employee with an infectious disease, such as Covid-19, to work could be in violation of federal workplace safety laws.
He also said the virus arrived amid historically low U.S. unemployment, making it likely that companies will be more flexible in enforcing any restrictions on sick time. “With the tight labor market, most employers do not want to have to replace existing employees,” he said. “I do suspect we will see an increase in flexibility.”
Only 45% of people employed in accommodation and food services in the U.S., including restaurants, receive paid sick leave.
Photo: Richard B. Levine/Zuma PressUnited Parcel Service Inc., for instance, requires employees exhibiting symptoms such as a fever or respiratory infection to seek immediate medical treatment, a company spokesman said. The delivery giant has deferred some travel and is asking employees in affected areas to take precautions such as avoiding public transportation. The company said a majority of workers receive paid sick leave.
More than 90% of workers in the management and professional industries receive paid sick leave, the Labor Department’s data showed. Only 45% of those employed in accommodation and food services, including restaurants, receive such a benefit. For retail workers, the rate is 64%.
That could be to the public’s detriment. A 2012 study by the CDC found that infected food handlers were the source of 53% of norovirus outbreaks, with most foods likely contaminated during preparation and service.
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Even when workers do have paid sick leave, some fear they will be punished for calling, said Lisa Baum, a union representative for the New York State Nurses Association. She cited points systems that can leave a mark on a worker’s record for taking numerous sick days.
“We really don’t want sick staff coming to work” given the risk to patients, she said.
While many front-line workers aren’t offered paid leave, including sick leave, most businesses have an explicit policy that sick employees shouldn’t report for work, said Adam Werner, global co-head of the restaurant, hospitality and leisure practice at consulting firm AlixPartners LLP.
“It starts with communicating and making sure workers are aware that they won’t be penalized if they call in sick,” he said.
—Paul Ziobro contributed to this article.
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