The success of both the FMLA and the paid leave law in San Francisco show that leave policy can be implemented effectively. In the case of FMLA, studies comparing employees access to parental and family leave versus their access to sick leave show that a far greater proportion of employees have access to parental and family leave due to the FMLA.[1] Additionally it has been shown that the societal disparities of access to family leave are fewer and less dramatic.[2] The San Francisco paid sick leave law has not had negative impacts on businesses and the city has experienced stronger employment growth in the service industries that were most affected by paid leave than the surrounding counties.[3] It is likely that similar government action for paid sick leave would have a positive impact.
[1] Phillips, “Getting Time Off,” 3.
[2] Ibid., 1.
[3] David Freedlander, “National ‘Moms Rising’ Group Lobbying For Paid Sick Leave,” New York Observer, September 22, 2010, http://www.observer.com/2010/politics/national-moms-rising-group-lobbying-paid-sick-leave (accessed October 10, 2011).