Paid sick days would keep workers healthier: study

Washington – Providing paid sick days for employees in Denver would help keep them healthier, according to a new study from the Institute for Women’s Policy Research.

About 41 percent of private-sector employees in Denver have no paid sick days. Researchers said that paid sick days would result in better health, lower likelihood of delayed medical care and less frequent visits to hospital emergency departments. While contagious, a sick worker likely would infect about 18 percent of his or her co-workers, which in turn would result in about two missed workdays per infected employee, according to the researchers.

“Allowing workers with contagious illness to avoid unnecessary contact with co-workers and customers is a public health issue,” the study stated.

The study and a fact sheet were released Oct. 11.