Sick-Leave Racial Disparities: A Flu Endemic's Best Friend

Sick-Leave Racial Disparities: A Flu Endemic's Best Friend

I see endless reports on Flu prep in public health news, but I've seen very little on the impact racial disparities have on workplace benefits (sick days) and the H1N1 public health impact.

I did a little checking, and Nationally--the numbers are pretty similar to California: across the country, 38% of African Americans and 53% of Hispanic workers do not receive paid sick days - a much higher rate than among white folks.

I'm interested to see what happens with the Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act. (introduced this year by Assemblywoman Fiona Ma. This bill is a commonsense public health prevention strategy that would guarantee all California workers the right to earn and use paid sick days for personal illness, to care for a sick family member, or to recover from domestic violence or sexual assault, without fear of losing their jobs.)