The United States’ shambolic approach to paid sick leave for workers hit home with a fury during the height of the pandemic. With the U.S. standing alone among the wealthy countries of the world in its refusal to enact a national policy on sick leave or family leave, your chances of being able to get paid time off if you or a family member became ill depended almost completely on where you lived or how much you made.
California was the first state to enact its own paid family leave (PFL) policy in 2002, and it remains a work in progress. Legislation approved last year will gradually raise wage replacements to as high as 90% for lower income workers, which lawmakers hope will encourage more people to tap the system.
