Hannah Jones credits paid a medical license for helping her to survive an aggressive form of breast cancer.
His employer provided free time for chemotherapy treatments and to recover from surgery. The most important thing: Jones did not have to delay care for work, something against which doctors warned.
“I am free of cancer because I followed the treatment plan,” said the 35 -year -old man. “I am an example of how paid (medical license) makes a big difference in the life and survival of a cancer patient.”
More states are approving or considering laws that require employers to offer a license like this. The defenders say These laws It can reduce financial stress and make workers more productive. But some measures also emphasize employers, and the mosaic nature of different state laws can create frustration.
The paid family and medical license allows workers to free time to undergo treatment or care For a family member or a new child.
Separately, more states and cities also require a paid disease time, which helps people deal with short -term diseases such as flu. Nineteen states more Washington, DC, have laws that require a paid disease time, as well as 17 cities and four counties, according to the National Non -Profit Association for women and families.
Many employers also offer paid disease time Without a government mandate.
Laws that require a long -term paid family and medical license are less common. Thirteen states and DC require some version of it, according to the National Association.
The details of these laws may vary according to the State. Some, for example, allow employers to provide only a partial payment for certain types of license.
Some states or municipalities also have laws that require specific types of paid free time. New York recently promulgated a license law paid for Prenatal Medical Checks. Some laws also give people free time to take care of themselves or a family member who deals domestic violence or sexual assault.
There is no federal law that requires paid license. He Family and Medical License Law Guarantees only unpaid free time. Nor does it apply to a large part of the workforce, including employees of small businesses that are exempt.
This means that the US. An “important atypical value” worldwide, according to Cancas Sprague, from the UCLA World Policies Analysis Center. She said that 95% of countries provide some type of license paid for personal health.
“And in most countries that are our economic partners, it is a substantial amount of license,” he said.
Defenders say that providing a paid disease time can reduce The spread of the disease.
It can also improve production by reducing “presentism” or people who present themselves in work patients and cannot concentrate on their jobs, said Jessica Mason, a senior policy analyst of the National Association.
The permission paid for long -term diseases can help people focus on care and recovery.
Jones said he could take every Friday during weeks during treatment to obtain chemotherapy. That gave him the weekend to be a “sofa zombie” and recover before returning to work.
The paid license also helped Jones and her husband stay afloat financially. They faced around $ 14,000 in medical invoices even with insurance.
“We could have had to charge our 401 (k) s,” he said. “We could have had to sell our house if that payment check had not continued.”
Skye Nevada has canceled the plans to hire about 30 or 40 temporary employees for its anchorage, Alaska, catering company and seasonal restaurant, The Bridge Co. She says that she cannot pay the new license law for illness paid for her status.
Nevada said that when someone calls sick, he would have to pay that person and his replacement, which would probably get overtime.
“Waiting for small businesses to simply absorb this cost is crazy,” said Nevada, adding that the business will only organize private events instead of opening the public this summer during the tourist season.
Small businesses often do not have a separate human resources department to monitor compliance with mandatory license policies, said Beth Milito of the National Federation for Independent Businesses.
“Papeleo is time, and time is money for the owner of a small business,” he said.
Experts say that the mosaic nature of the laws can be an additional discomfort for the employers of several states.
It also affects patients.
Jones, who is helping non -profit children to defend for the first time a family license law in Pennsylvania, had paid permission through his employer in New York headquarters.
But her husband’s Pennsylvania company did not offer it. That left the suburban resident of Philadelphia who improvised the help of family members during treatment after her husband used her vacation time and had to return to work.
Sprague does not see a federal law that requires a paid permit that occurs in the short term. But the impulse is being built in the United States.
Voters in Missouri, Nebraska and Alaska Disease license laws approved In November.
At least seven states are considering family and medical license laws this year, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Mason says that interest in the paid license has been built since the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Pandemia really brought the avant -garde of everyone’s mind how important the disease for illness is paid,” he said.
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The Department of Health and Sciences of Associated Press receives support from the Science and Educational Media Group of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
