Paid sick leave as public health policy: A health impact assessment of the California Healthy Families, Healthy Workplaces Act

Wages, benefits, and workplace safety are critical determinants of population health and health disparities. In 2008, the Healthy Families, Healthy Workplaces Act was introduced in California. The bill would guarantee California workers the right to accrue paid sick days to be used for the diagnosis, care, or treatment of health conditions of the employee or the employee's family, or for leave related to domestic violence or sexual assault.

At the request of legislative sponsors, Human Impact Partners and the San Francisco Department of Public Health conducted a health impact assessment of the proposed law. The HIA predicted significant, positive, and credible health impacts from the legislation, including limiting the transmission of communicable diseases and enabling workers to care for sick dependents and to participate in preventative care.

While the CA legislation did not pass, findings were built upon throughout 2009 and in 2010 to analyze a proposed federal bill, and in campaigns in Maine, Massachusetts, Milwaukee, New Hampshire, and New Jersey. In addition, with the H1N1 outbreak, the issue of paid sick days has received increased attention nationally. In this session, we will describe how we worked with stakeholders to frame paid sick days as a public health issue, report key findings, and provide an evaluation of the process and impacts. Overall, we will highlight roles for public health practitioners to play in social justice movements doing work outside of public health domains.