Americans Overwhelmingly Support Emergency Paid Leave

PALO ALTO, Calif., March 23, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- As people deal with illness and quarantines, new polling from LeanIn.Org shows that three-quarters of Americans (76%) support expanding paid sick leave access beyond the provisions included in the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), which the president signed last week. This new data comes as Congress works feverishly to produce a bipartisan third emergency package, which includes provisions to boost workers' and families' economic security and stabilize businesses during the pandemic.

95% of Americans think at least some workers affected by the coronavirus should have access to paid leave for illness or quarantine. 77% of Americans say health care workers should have access to paid sick days, and 75% say emergency responders should have access to paid sick days. However, FFCRA allows employers or the Secretary of Labor to exempt health workers and first responders from paid sick day access. Similarly, approximately seven in 10 Americans believe that other workers on the frontlines of businesses that remain open – grocery workers (72%), pharmacy workers (71%), childcare workers (71%) and restaurant workers (66%) should have guaranteed access to emergency paid sick days. But many of these workers are excluded from FFCRA protections because businesses with more than 500 employees are not guaranteed any paid sick time under the law adopted last week.

"These findings should send a strong message to lawmakers that people need and want paid sick leave to help them through this crisis," says LeanIn.Org CEO Rachel Thomas. "Paid leave would help people take care of their families and stay home if they are sick. These are basics that everyone deserves, no matter what they do for a living or the size of the company they work for."

Key findings:

Americans overwhelmingly support emergency access to paid leave. 95% of Americans think at least some workers should have access to paid leave for illness or quarantine related to the coronavirus. Americans are most likely to say healthcare workers (77%), emergency responders (75%), and grocery store employees (72%) continuing to work during the pandemic should have this access. The majority of Americans support access to sick leave regardless of race/ethnicity or political affiliation, though support is slightly greater among women (97%) than men (92%).

Most Americans support the recent legislation to grant some workers paid leave. 73% of Americans support the recent paid leave legislation that Congress just passed expanding paid sick and family leave for certain employees who have been impacted by the coronavirus pandemic — and this support is fairly consistent regardless of age, gender, race or political party.

The vast majority of Americans believe the recent paid leave legislation should be expanded. Overall, 76% of Americans think the recent paid leave legislation should go further or does not go far enough in expanding paid leave. This belief is highest among hourly workers (83%) and those with incomes below $50,000 per year (83%). 

These beliefs may impact how people will vote. 68% of Americans would be more likely to vote for their representative or US Senator if they knew they voted to give paid sick leave to all workers during the pandemic. This is true for more than half of Republicans (59%) and Independents (55%) — and 82% of Democrats. Very few Americans (6%) — regardless of age, gender, race or political party — would be less likely to vote for their state's representatives if they vote for expanding paid leave.

About LeanIn.Org
An initiative of the Sheryl Sandberg & Dave Goldberg Family Foundation, LeanIn.Org works to help women achieve their ambitions and create a more equal world. LeanIn.Org offers inspiration and support through an online community, free education materials, and Lean In Circles, small groups of peers who meet regularly to learn and grow together. The Lean In community includes more than two million women and men and 47,000 Lean In Circles in 174 countries. The Sheryl Sandberg & Dave Goldberg Family Foundation, which also runs OptionB.Org, is a private operating nonprofit organization under IRS section 501(c)(3).

Survey methodology
These findings are from questions LeanIn.Org fielded as part of a SurveyMonkey Audience poll conducted online on March 20-21, 2020 among a total sample of 2,753 adults ages 18 and over living in the United States. Respondents for these surveys were selected from more than two million people who take surveys on the SurveyMonkey platform each day. The modeled error estimate for the full sample is plus or minus 2 percentage points. Data have been weighted for age, race, sex, education, and geography using the Census Bureau's American Community Survey to reflect the demographic composition of the United States age 18 and over.

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SOURCE LeanIn.Org

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