COMP NEWS – U.S. workers lost a collective $28 billion in wages over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic from unpaid leave for illness, childcare, and other obligations.
Missing a week of work due to illness, child care or other obligations during Covid-19 cost workers without access to paid leave an average of $815 in wages, according to new research from the Urban Institute.
Consequently, workers missed out on roughly $28 billion more in wages between March 2020 and February 2022 compared to the previous two years, according to the report from the nonprofit research organization with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
On average, workers with access to paid leave lost around $815 in wages due during the COVID-19 pandemic. The majority of absences were – unsurprisingly – due to worker illnesses.
The Covid-19 pandemic exposed the gaps in paid leave coverage that many employees face.
Workers reported a 50% increase in absences from March 2020 through February 2022 due to illness, childcare, family or personal obligations compared to the preceding two years, according to the research, which looked at the Current Population Survey from the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The weekly unpaid absence rate among all workers jumped 60% from March 2020 through February 2022.
The majority of absences — 81% — were due to worker illness.
Federal policies attempted to expand access to paid leave during the pandemic, but studies show that those policies were only somewhat effective.
Federal policies were temporarily expanded to help workers who needed access to paid leave during the pandemic. But many workers were still left out, the research found.
The Families First Coronavirus Act temporarily created paid sick and family and medical leave for reasons related to Covid-19. It was originally available from April to December 2020, and then extended twice through December 2021.
The policy provided refundable tax credits to employers who provided paid leave to covered employees. But employers with more than 500 employees were excluded. There were also exemptions for employers with fewer than 50 employees and certain types of employees.
With the extensions of the policy, the employer mandate was eliminated, which made coverage voluntary.
To read more about the survey, click here.
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