Paid Leave Is Falling Apart Just as Omicron Keeps Sick Americans From Working

The latest Covid surge highlighted with renewed urgency that when Americans get sick, most don't get paid time off from work. At the start of this month, 8.8 million people reported that they weren’t working because they had Covid or were caring for someone who did, according to the Household Pulse Survey from the U.S. Census Bureau — nearly triple the figure from early December. For many, particularly low-wage hourly earners, that could mean forgoing a paycheck or going into work while still recovering or contagious. The U.S., unlike most other high-income countries, guarantees workers nothing in the event of sickness or new parenthood, costing Americans an estimated $22.5 billion annually in wages, according to think tank Center for American Progress.