by Kameron Dawson, Feroza Freeland, Katherine Gallagher Robbins, and Jessica Mason
During Black History Month, Representative DeLauro (D-CT) and Senator Sanders (I-VT) introduced the Healthy Families Act. This critical bill would guarantee workers across the country the ability to earn paid sick and safe leave when they have short-term health and caregiving needs, including seeking preventive health care, caring for themselves or their loved ones when they are sick or addressing needs related to domestic violence.
A national paid sick and safe leave law is essential for all workers – and the need is especially acute for Black women. A key reason is because 18 states across the country fail to guarantee workers the ability to earn paid sick days, and at the same time block local governments from setting their own paid leave standards for local workers, families and businesses (known as “preemption”).
Black women are disproportionately impacted by paid sick day preemption laws, based on new analysis by the National Partnership for Women & Families and A Better Balance, released with The 75 Million Campaign. We find that:
- More than 6.1 million Black women – 57 percent of Black women in the labor force nationwide – live in these 18 preemption states. By comparison, overall, 43 percent of the U.S. labor force lives in paid sick day preemption states.
- Black women account for 18 percent of the women’s labor force in preemption states, compared to 13 percent of the women’s labor force nationally.
- A majority of these preemption states are in the South, disproportionately affecting Black women.
States that block local progress on paid sick leave undermine Black women’s health, as well as their ability to care for their families and their economic security. Despite facing discrimination and wage gaps in the workplace, Black women have among the highest labor force participation rates for all groups of women. They are also especially likely to be their family’s breadwinners and co-breadwinners, supporting their economic security while simultaneously providing essential caregiving for their loved ones. However, due to the slowing job market and systemic discrimination, Black women are contending with a climbing unemployment rate year-over-year.
Carrying those caregiving and economic responsibilities in an increasingly harsh economy is hard enough for Black women. The added burden of trying to do so without paid sick days – and being forced to choose between a paycheck and caring for themselves or a sick loved one – is untenable. But that’s exactly what state policymakers force Black women to do when they block local governments from establishing paid sick days policies.
The failure of legislators in these states to support paid sick days means Black women are missing out on the economic, health and caregiving benefits of these laws. Paid sick days laws increase employment and help workers and their families access preventive health care and reduce the spread of infectious illnesses. They also improve women’s health, especially among women of color, who are more likely to experience exceptionally high rates of maternal and infant mortality and live in preemption states.
It’s no coincidence that paid sick days preemption laws are disproportionately harming Black women. Preemption laws are part of a longstanding effort to stymie democracy and limit the progress and political power of Black women, along with other communities of color and other historically marginalized groups. This is especially true in many majority-Black cities in the South, which are heavily restricted by preemption laws. For example, in 2015, Birmingham, Alabama, enacted a law to raise the city’s minimum wage. Only one day later, the Governor of Alabama signed a statewide preemption bill that not only blocked local minimum wage increases, but also prohibited cities from enacting any paid or unpaid leave or fair scheduling regulations. A group of Birmingham residents, represented by the NAACP, filed a lawsuit against the state law, alleging racial discrimination – an allegation that was supported by a panel of federal appeals court judges. The judges found that the state preemption law was in direct response to the majority-Black Birmingham City Council’s efforts to support their constituents and noted that only white state legislators sponsored the preemption law, which was opposed by all Black state legislators. Although the full appeals court ultimately upheld the preemption law, the litigation put a clear spotlight on the discriminatory impact and racial disparities of state preemption laws.
For centuries, this country has profited off of Black women’s labor while policymakers have intentionally blocked Black women’s economic progress. Despite these barriers, Black women have long been on the frontlines leading the fight for the policies families need to thrive. We celebrate and stand in solidarity with the dynamic community leaders from across the country who continue to fight tirelessly to dismantle these oppressive systems and defend democracy and Black women’s civil rights. The needs of Black women must be centered in policies. Policymakers must ensure that Black women are paid a fair wage that allows them to thrive; that their voices and their work are valued; and that they have access to paid sick and safe time to balance their work life with the many ways they support and uplift their families and communities. Women, especially Black women living in paid sick day preemption states, deserve a day-to-day that feels more grounded and less precarious. We are committed to continuing this fight until every worker in this country has access to paid sick and safe days.
For methodological information see our report Nearly 73 Million Workers Live in States That Block Local Communities from Making Progress on Paid Sick Days.
