Time off policies in the United States continue to evolve as some states and cities are exploring mandatory paid sick leave. While current policies vary from state to state, the Benefits USA 2007/2008 survey of more than 5,400 benefit plans found employers offer exempt workers 8.4 sick days on average and non-exempt 7.6.
In the last month, Washington D.C. joined San Francisco by becoming the second U.S. municipality to mandate paid sick leave. The D.C. law has a number of exemptions including workers who have been at their jobs for less than a year and those who have worked less than 1,000 hours total for their current employer. Businesses are also not required to provide paid leave to waiters and bartenders.
States across the U.S. are also exploring mandatory paid sick leave. Some of these include Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, North Carolina, Minnesota, Colorado, Wyoming, California and Alaska. In California, a bill was recently introduced which would guarantee paid sick days for all employees. It would allow workers to accrue at least one hour of sick leave for every 30 hours worked and is modeled after the San Francisco law.
“In particular, small organizations should be aware of pending sick day legislation for their cities and states,” said Amy Kaminski, manager of marketing programs for Compdata Surveys. “While most large companies have sick day policies in place, smaller organizations are less likely to, as they are often more vulnerable to unplanned absences. ”
The Benefits USA 2007/2008 results showed 57.2 percent of organizations allow workers to carryover sick days. Of those, 70 percent place a cap on the number of days which can be carried over. In addition to time off for personal illness, 16.7 percent of organizations grant leave for family illness with an average maximum of 43.7 days.
About the Survey
Benefits USA 2007/2008 analyzes national and regional data on benefits eligibility and administration policies with detailed information on benefit plans, premiums and provisions. Information was collected from more than 5,400 benefit plans covering almost 6 million employees across the country.
Compdata Surveys is the nation’s leading compensation and benefits survey data provider. Data is collected annually from thousands of organizations across the country. Compdata Surveys has been providing accurate, reliable data at affordable prices to organizations since 1988. For further information about the compensation and benefits surveys, contact Lane Odle at (800) 300-9570 or lodle@compdatasurveys.com.
