New report details statewide access to earned sick time benefits in Minnesota
TakeAction Minnesota and the Institute for Women’s Policy Research released a new statewide analysis recently, detailing access rates to earned sick time leave across the state of Minnesota. The new report breaks down data by gender, race and ethnicity, occupation, hours worked and earnings level. Overall, the report concludes that 41% of Minnesota workers lack access to even a single day of earned sick time off.
On the morning tele-conference briefing with reporters and policymakers, Jessica Milli, Senior Research Associate at the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, reviewed key findings from the statewide analysis. Milli said, “This data indicates that Minnesota workers who are least able to lose pay when they are sick are also the least likely to have employer-provided earned sick days. Earned sick time gives workers the ability to seek health services or stay home with sick children or other family members, helping reduce the spread of illness in schools and workplaces. It provides more economic security for families across the board, but most especially for those struggling in lower-wage and part-time jobs.”
