Quarter of Maine workers lack paid sick days risking worker and public health, report warns

A report published last month by the Maine Center for Economic Policy says that at least 22 percent of private sector workers in Maine do not have paid sick days, which impacts workers’ overall wages, health, and productivity as well as public health and economic vitality.

“The ability of employees to take time off work for their health or the health of a loved one, without fear of retribution or lost pay, is crucial to both worker well-being and economic productivity,” writes report author and MECEP policy analyst James Myall, who notes that low-wage workers are much more likely to be deprived of this benefit. Forty-one percent of Mainers paid between $12-18 an hour are not given paid sick time, while as many as 67 percent of workers who make less than $12 an hour reported having no paid sick days.

Click here to read the full story, published December 27, 2018, on Beacon.