Nationwide, three states and sixteen cities have passed paid sick days laws. At the same time, according to the National Partnership for Women and Families, “nearly four in 10 private sector workers can’t earn paid sick days.”

As of November, 16 cities and three states have paid sick leave ordinances, according to a report from the Philadelphia Mayor’s Task Force on Paid Sick Leave. But some states are passing pre-emption laws that prohibit municipalities from establishing sick leave policies — up to 11 from 2011 through 2014, according to the National Partnership for Women and Families.

According to a 2012 poll commissioned by the National Partnership for Women and Families, 86 percent of Americans support paid leave.

The nonprofit National Partnership for Women and Families has pushed for paid sick time laws, which it considers “basic minimum protections that working families need, so they won’t have to lose a job or forfeit income when they have the flu or a family member is sick,” says Vicki Shabo, the organization’s vice president.

On Nov. 24, the Center for American Progress, the National Women’s Law Center and the National Partnership for Women & Families hosted a webinar on pregnancy job discrimination and Young v. UPS. Several experts, including Michele Jawando, Rachel Lyons, Diane Feldman and Emily Martin, discussed the case, the historical context of pregnancy discrimination and information on how to take action—and it’s clear that Young has already made a difference for pregnant workers.

Only 12 percent of U.S. workers have access to paid family leave through their employers, and nearly 40 percent of private-sector workers – and 80 percent of low-wage workers – don’t have a single paid sick day, according to the National Partnership for Women and Families.

“Lack of access to paid family and medical leave in this country is a serious issue, and it deserves serious attention from Congress.”

The United States has no national paid sick day policy, which means that 40 percent of the workforce — more than 40 million private sector workers — lose income when they stay home with their kids, according to the National Partnership for Women and Families.

It takes barely three unpaid sick days to threaten the ability of a typical low-wage worker to afford groceries, rent and other necessities, said Vicki Shabo, vice president of the National Partnership for Women & Families.

“We’re the only economically developed country in the world that doesn’t have paid sick days,” says Vicki Shabo, a vice president at the National Partnership.

“Even employers that do have policies, about 40% of workers say they have penalties, demerits, for taking a sick day,” Vice President of the National Partnership for Women & Families, Vicki Shabo said.

Debra Ness, president of the National Partnership for Women and Families, said the law’s passage represents “a pivotal moment for the country and a historic first step for California.”

An April report by the National Partnership for Women and Families, a Washington, D.C., nonprofit that advocates for such policies, said that at least five other U.S. cities had passed laws requiring paid sick leave.

“This is a broad-based response to what we’ve seen as growing momentum over the last months and years in support of public policies that address these critical issues for families,” said Vicki Shabo, vice president at the National Partnership for Women & Families, one of the many organizations behind the #WEmatter campaign. “We’re optimistic that this is going to cause public officials and traditional media to sit up and take notice, and that’s a critical first step in bringing the policy changes that we need.”

Nationwide, the National Partnership for Women & Families reports that adults without paid sick leave are 1.5 times more likely than workers with paid sick leave to go to work with a contagious disease.

“Knowing the lay of the land can provide parents with reassurance and confidence at what can be a stressful time of year,” says Vicki Shabo, vice president at the National Partnership for Women & Families. “All parents know that there are times when missing work is unavoidable, so knowing whether [they] have paid sick, vacation or personal time to use, and understanding employers’ rules about providing notice for using that time, is also important.”