The current proposed bill states that workers in businesses with fewer than five employees will receive job protection for up to five unpaid sick days and workers in businesses with five or more employees will be able to earn up to five paid sick days per year.

Using the parameters of the bill and publicly available data, the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR) estimated the anticipated costs and some of the anticipated benefits of the proposed legislation using data collected by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, and the U.S. Census Bureau.

This report was prepared as a summary of an analysis by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, the National Alliance for Partnerships in Equity, the National Women’s Law Center, and Wider Opportunities for Women, under the auspices of the National Coalition of Women and Girls in Education and the National Coalition on Women, Jobs and Job Training.

The gender wage gap in the United States has not seen significant improvement in recent years, and remains a reality for women across racial and ethnic groups.

This report provides critical data to identify both areas of progress for women in North Carolina and places where additional improvements are still needed.

According to the March employment report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), job growth improved substantially in February compared to the previous month, with 236,000 jobs added to nonfarm payrolls.

The briefing paper uses data collected by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Oregon Public Health Division, and the U.S. Census Bureau to evaluate costs and benefits of Portland’s “Protected Sick Time Act.”