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So I Just Found Out That in The US You Have Very Limited Sick Leave

Angie

Angie

Best Avatar Thread Ever!
Member
Nov 20, 2017
39,679
Kingdom of Corona
Checking Twitter I stumble upon this tweet


After reading about this on Twitter, I decided to look into this and it seems that compared to many other parts of the world, the US is way behind when it comes to sick leave. The average amount of sick days for someone in America is just around a week, and there is no federal law that protects this right. In fact it seems that many employers are free to fire you if you miss too many days from work and some states can even fire you for any reason. Seems pretty backward for such a modern country don't you think?

I'm both fascinated and confused over this.



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Tatsu91

Tatsu91

Banned
Apr 7, 2019
3,147
Angie22 said:
Checking Twitter I stumble upon this tweet


After reading about this on Twitter, I decided to look into this and it seems that compared to many other parts of the world, the US is way behind when it comes to sick leave. The average amount of sick days for someone in America is just around a week, and there is no federal law that protects this right. In fact it seems that many employers are free to fire you if you miss too many days from work and some states can even fire you for any reason. Seems pretty backward for such a modern country don't you think?

I'm both fascinated and confused over this.



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pretty much i get 1 day a month or 4 hours every check. with only a max of 5 allowed to carry over into the next year.
 

Deleted member 86105

Banned
Nov 18, 2020
1,408
Unless you work in a skilled role for a wealthy and benevolent large corporation, like me. In that case you are taken care of, with essentially unlimited sick days and no consequences. But obviously I'm the minority. You're either in the bubble, or you're fucked.

We technically have legislated paid sick leave in New York, but that's only 56 hours per calendar year. So 7 work days max, and only 5 days for small businesses. And this is some of the best in the country.
 
PlatypusDude

PlatypusDude

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,149
Yup same with no guaranteed vacation time and no paid parental leave. We're incredibly backwards when it comes to worker rights in this country.
 
molnizzle

molnizzle

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
17,695
Many "white collar" workplaces don't have sick days at all anymore, just a unified pool of Paid Time Off days that cover both vacation and sickness. I think the average yearly PTO days are like 20 or less.
 

Thebox

Member
Dec 26, 2019
419
Have to use pto and if you have more than 9 occurrences in a rolling calendar year then you can be terminated. And this is a hospital
 
Blah

Blah

Member
Oct 26, 2017
3,602
Every company I've worked for combines sick and vacation time into PTO (paid time off). So everytime you're sick, you essentially lose a vacation day as well. It's sold as you're getting more vacation time if you're somebody who doesn't get sick but that's not true since the PTO offered is limited anyways.

One company had a week of sick time and a week of vacation then changed it to a week of PTO total and tried to tell us it was actually a benefit. I haven't worked there in a decade but I'll never forget that.
 
Jakenbakin

Jakenbakin

"This guy are sick"
Member
Jun 17, 2018
11,881
Working a 12 hour shift while running 103 degree fever is just like a badge of honor y'know, a testament to our American exceptionalism. Even better you get everyone else sick and get to test their commitment to work!
 
pokeystaples

pokeystaples

Member
Oct 27, 2017
5,375
Every couple months we have this thread. I'm surprised there are any people left to be shocked at how ass backwards America is.
 
Jerm

Jerm

The Fallen
Oct 31, 2017
5,782
I had to go on long term disability and got fired while I was on it after my return date got pushed further.
 
MrNelson

MrNelson

Community Resettler
Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,356
Ya, it's fucked up. The less you earn, the more likely it is you're going to have little to no sick time available. Likewise, the more you earn, the more likely it is you have several weeks of, or even unlimited time off. Last year I had to take a bunch of time off for various doctor's appointments for an ongoing issue, and I was lucky to have unlimited PTO so I didn't have to worry about burning it all and running out. Had that happened 6 years ago when I was still working in retail I'd have been super fucked.
 

bawjaws

Member
Oct 28, 2017
3,588
Is this one of those things where there's no provision at federal level, but individual states can and do set provisions themselves? Or does pretty much no-one offer this sort of benefit no matter which state you're in?
 
HeySeuss

HeySeuss

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
8,868
Ohio
At will employment is the norm in many states. Which means they can fire you for just about anything. Need to fix this and then move on to a standard for sick leave. But even if they do that, I'd bet it isn't more than 5 days max. Kinda like minimum wage only with sick days. Gotta protect the corporations
 
Huncho_Houdini

Huncho_Houdini

Member
Dec 31, 2017
7,105
Yeah we lag behind in terms of sick leave, maternity/paternity leave, and vacation compared to many peer countries. It's that capitalist work culture combined with little to not policy based progress, made doubly terrible by a lack of good insurance coverage. I'm hopeful we tackle some of these issues over the next 2 years.
 
Noppie

Noppie

Member
Oct 27, 2017
13,780
Where I live your employer needs to continue paying (at least 70% of your regular salary) for ~2 years when you're sick long term, while simultaneously aiding you in your needs/reintegration where needed/possible. After that time, the employer has a right to let you go, but then you can appy for government aid.

USA sucks.
 

bawjaws

Member
Oct 28, 2017
3,588
Imagine being so ill that you were unable to work for a month, say, and then getting fired for that. Fucked up doesn't even begin to describe it.
 
karnage10

karnage10

Member
Oct 27, 2017
5,516
Portugal
For POrtugal it works like this:
You are sick and there are 2 entrances to the NHS:
  1. you go to the emegerncy in your local hospital due to a serious illness and you get into the hospital. Hospital doctor will mark a paper yo ucan't work which digitally goes to SS so you get payed. Patient or his family/friends should contact their work that they are sick.
  2. go to your family doctor. If he thinks yo ucan't work you get a paper (CIT) that goes digitally to SS so yo ucan get payed. yo uhave to deliver that paper to your work to say you are sick and can't work. If you are sick for more than 1 month you get called to a verification; where 2 doctors hear you out and see your exams to see if you are indeed not capable of working.
If 1 happens you get 100% pay. number 2 gets you around 60% pay. the CIT has a maximum of 3 consecutive years.

I thought it wasn't very good but lookinga t this thread i didn't0 know USA had it worse.

Oheao said:
This is why unions are so important.
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In Portugal it is covered by social security. not unions.
 
DJChuy

DJChuy

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
5,252
It's stupid af. Fortunately, my current job does separate pto and sick leave. The benefits of working for the government.
 
Pirateluigi

Pirateluigi

Member
Oct 27, 2017
6,885
What's really fun is when you have a job that offers sick leave but you get in trouble if you use it.
 
Nude_Tayne

Nude_Tayne

Member
Jan 8, 2018
3,678
earth
The people in America who think we are the greatest nation on earth with the greatest healthcare on earth and that we don't have serious workers' rights problems are absolutely no different than North Koreans being fed bullshit about how the rest of the world is worse off than North Korea. Right wing media and propaganda have decimated this country. We're slowly turning back into The Jungle.

I am very fortunate by American standards to have an employer with a great culture of letting you use available time off whenever you want/need, but it doesn't address the issue of it being limited in the first place.
 
Dest

Dest

Has seen more 10s than EA ever will
Coward
Jun 4, 2018
14,097
Work
Our company just combined our PTO (sick and vacation leave). I get a total of 18 days. 18. That's it.
 

Deleted member 36054

Banned
Dec 12, 2017
4,652
It's fucking dumb. In NYC we have a mandated 5 days of sick leave. But that's not enough. I'm lucky enough to work for a company that has unlimited sick days and vacation (whether that's good or bad is up for debate.)
 
shaneo632

shaneo632

Weekend Planner
Member
Oct 29, 2017
29,040
Wrexham, Wales
I live in the UK and my sister had to have a disciplinary meeting with Sainsbury's because she was ill and had 3 days off in a row.

They said to her, "What do you have to say for yourself?" at the start of the meeting. Cunts lmao.
 
Davey Cakes

Davey Cakes

Member
Oct 27, 2017
3,695
Massachusetts
HeySeuss said:
At will employment is the norm in many states. Which means they can fire you for just about anything. Need to fix this and then move on to a standard for sick leave. But even if they do that, I'd bet it isn't more than 5 days max. Kinda like minimum wage only with sick days. Gotta protect the corporations
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At-will employment is the worst. It's a great excuse to keep gig workers' heads down, though. No paid time off, and you don't get benefits, but you still need a job, right? Better not do or say the wrong thing!

I'm so glad I'm in a union now.
 
Conkersbadfurday

Conkersbadfurday

Member
Oct 29, 2017
5,317
Minnesota
Jakenbakin said:
Working a 12 hour shift while running 103 degree fever is just like a badge of honor y'know, a testament to our American exceptionalism. Even better you get everyone else sick and get to test their commitment to work!
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My dad legit had this thought process for most of his working life. I think when I first started working and would take a day off for being sick, he'd kinda be like "you know I go to work with a fever." The older he got, the more he realized the company was fucking him and that it wasn't worth his time to be miserable.

But it took him years to figure that out. Like actual decades.
 
entremet

entremet

You wouldn't toast a NES cartridge
Member
Oct 26, 2017
60,347
The US is basically a case study on what would happens if corporations control everything.
 
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