A Missing Link in Public Health Preparedness and Emergency Response: Engaging Private Sector Employers for Pandemic Workplace Policies

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Public–Private Partnership Responses to COVID-19 and Future Pandemics: Proceedings of a Workshop–in Brief. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press; 2020. Accessed June 7, 2023. https://doi.org/10.17226/25999

Ingram C , Downey V , Roe M , et al. COVID-19 prevention and control measures in workplace settings: a rapid review and meta-analysis. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021; 18(15):7847.

Dyal JW , Grant MP , Broadwater K , et al. COVID-19 among workers in meat and poultry processing facilities — 19 states, April 2020. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2020; 69(18):557-561.

Koonin LM. Returning to the workplace during the COVID-19 pandemic: a framework to inform business decision-making. J Bus Continuity Emer Plan. 2022; 16(1):62-72.

Collins J. U.S. governors push back against mandates, closures amid omicron surge. PBS News Hour. January 7, 2022. Accessed April 5, 2023. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/u-s-governors-push-back-against-mandates-closures-amid-omicron-surge

Cohen A. How to quit your job in the great post-pandemic resignation boom. Bloomberg Businessweek. May 10, 2021. Accessed April 5, 2023. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-05-10/quit-your-job-how-to-resign-after-covid-pandemic?leadSource=uverify%20wall

US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Table A-1. Employment status of the civilian population by sex and age. Updated January 6, 2023. Accessed January 20, 2023. https://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t01.htm#cps_empsit_a01.f.1

Kocsis SW , Roesler AR , Marshall J , Totten A . Learning from COVID-19: Reimagining Public-Private Partnerships in Public Health. Santa Monica, CA: Milken Institute; 2022. Accessed January 20, 2023. https://milkeninstitute.org/report/covid-19-public-private-partnerships

US Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). OSHA worker rights and protections: employer responsibilities. Accessed January 20, 2023. https://www.osha.gov/workers/employer-responsibilities

Guerin RJ , Barile JP , Groenewold MR , Free HL , Okun AH . COVID-19 workplace mitigation strategies and employee leave policies implemented during the height of the pandemic, United States, fall 2020 and 2021. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023; 20(4):2894.

Nulab. Reviewing your employer's response to COVID-19. Published May 14, 2020. Accessed June 7, 2023. https://nulab.com/learn/strategy-and-planning/reviewing-your-employers-response-to-covid-19/

US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Interim guidance for businesses and employers to plan and respond to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), February 2020. Published February 26, 2020. Accessed August 1, 2023. https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/85488

US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Ventilation in buildings. Published December 21, 2020. Accessed June 7, 2023. https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/99173

US Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Protecting workers: guidance on mitigating and preventing the spread of COVID-19 in the workplace. Updated August 13, 2021. Accessed January 20, 2023. https://www.osha.gov/coronavirus/safework

Owl Labs. State of remote work 2021. Accessed April 5, 2023. https://owllabs.com/state-of-remote-work/2021

Dua A , Ellingrud K , Kirschner P , et al. Americans are embracing flexible work—and they want more of it. McKinsey & Company. Published June 23, 2022. Accessed April 5, 2023. https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/real-estate/our-insights/americans-are-embracing-flexible-work-and-they-want-more-of-it

Wigert B. The future of hybrid work: 5 key questions answered with data. Gallup. Published March 15, 2022. Accessed January 20, 2023. https://www.gallup.com/workplace/390632/future-hybrid-work-key-questions-answered-data.aspx

Awada M , Lucas G , Becerik-Gerber B , Roll S . Working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic: impact on office worker productivity and work experience. Work. 2021; 69(4):1171-1189.

Saad L , Wigert B. Remote work persisting and trending permanent. Gallup. Published October 13, 2021. Accessed April 5, 2023. https://news.gallup.com/poll/355907/remote-work-persisting-trending-permanent.aspx

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Institute for Health and Productivity Studies, the de Beaumont Foundation. Seven Ways Businesses Can Align with Public Health for Bold Action and Innovation. Bethesda, MD: The de Beaumont Foundation; 2021. Accessed January 20, 2023. https://debeaumont.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Seven-Ways-Businesses-Can-Align-with-Public-Health.pdf

Vander Weerdt C , Stoddard-Dare P , DeRigne L . Is paid sick leave bad for business? A systematic review. Am J Ind Med. 2023; 66(6):429-440.

Billah MA , Miah MM , Khan MN . Reproductive number of coronavirus: a systematic review and meta-analysis based on global level evidence. PLoS One. 2020; 15(11):e0242128.

Asfaw A , Rosa R , Pana-Cryan R . Potential economic benefits of paid sick leave in reducing absenteeism related to the spread of influenza-like illness. J Occup Environ Med. 2017; 59(9):822-829.

Qualls N , Levitt A , Kanade N , et al. CDC Community Mitigation Guidelines Work Group. Community mitigation guidelines to prevent pandemic influenza—United States, 2017. MMWR Recomm Rep. 2017; 66(1):1-34.

Schneider D , Harknett K , Vivas-Portillo E . Olive Garden's expansion of paid sick leave during COVID-19 reduced the share of employees working while sick. Health Aff (Millwood). 2021; 40(8):1328-1336.

Brown M , Monaco K. Employee access to sick leave before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Mon Labor Rev. April 2021. Accessed April 5, 2023. https://doi.org/10.21916/mlr.2021.8

Associated Press. Walmart to allow any worker concerned about coronavirus to stay home ‘without penalty.’. New York Post. March 10, 2020. Accessed April 5, 2023. https://nypost.com/2020/03/10/walmart-to-allow-any-worker-concerned-about-coronavirus-to-stay-home-without-penalty/

Rho HJ , Fremstad S , Gaby-Biegel J . Contagion Nation 2020: United States Still the Only Wealthy Nation Without Paid Sick Leave. Washington, DC: Center for Economic and Policy Research; 2020. Accessed April 5, 2023. https://cepr.net/report/contagion-nation-2020-united-states-still-the-only-wealthy-nation-without-paid-sick-leave/

Rothstein MA , Fox D . Expanding paid sick leave laws: the public health imperative. Hastings Cent Rep. 2023; 53(1):6-10.

US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Employee Benefits Survey: paid sick leave benefits factsheet. Updated January 12, 2021. Accessed June 7, 2023. https://www.bls.gov/ebs/factsheets/paid-sick-leave.htm

DeSilver D. As coronavirus spreads, which U.S. workers have paid sick leave – and which don't? Pew Research Center. Published March 12, 2020. Accessed January 20, 2023. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/03/12/as-coronavirus-spreads-which-u-s-workers-have-paid-sick-leave-and-which-dont/

Henning-Smith C , Dill J , Baldomero A , Backes Kozhimannil K . Rural/urban differences in access to paid sick leave among full-time workers. J Rural Health. 2022; 26:jrh.12703.

Schneider D , Harknett K . Good if You Can Get It: Benefits and Inequalities in the Expansion of Paid Sick Leave During COVID-19. Boston: Federal Reserve Bank of Boston; 2022. Accessed January 20, 2023. https://www.bostonfed.org/-/media/Documents/Community-Development-Issue-Briefs/cdbrief12022.pdf

Capasso A , Kim S , Ali SH , Jones AM , DiClemente RJ , Tozan Y . Employment conditions as barriers to the adoption of COVID-19 mitigation measures: how the COVID-19 pandemic may be deepening health disparities among low-income earners and essential workers in the United States. BMC Public Health. 2022; 22:870.

Milligan WR , Fuller ZL , Agarwal I , Eisen MB , Przeworski M , Sella G . Impact of essential workers in the context of social distancing for epidemic control. PLoS One. 2021; 16(8):e0255680.

Maclean C , Pichler S , Ziebarth NR . Paid sick leave improves public health outcomes and supports U.S. workers at a relatively low cost to employers. Washington Center for Equitable Growth. Published January 12, 2022. Accessed August 1, 2023. https://equitablegrowth.org/paid-sick-leave-improves-public-health-outcomes-and-supports-u-s-workers-at-a-relatively-low-cost-to-employers/

Schnake-Mahl AS , O'Leary G , Mullachery PH , et al. Higher COVID-19 vaccination and narrower disparities in US cities with paid sick leave compared to those without. Health Aff (Millwood). 2022; 41(11):1565-1574.

Hsuan C , Ryan-Ibarra S , DeBurgh K , Jacobson DM . Association of paid sick leave laws with foodborne illness rates. Am J Prev Med. 2017; 53(5):609-615.

Moritz ED , Ebrahim-Zadeh SD , Wittry B , et al. Foodborne illness outbreaks at retail food establishments — National Environmental Assessment Reporting System, 25 state and local health departments, 2017–2019. MMWR Surveill Summ. 2023; 72(6):1-11.

A Better Balance. Overview of paid sick time laws in the United States. Accessed January 20, 2023. https://www.abetterbalance.org/paid-sick-time-laws/?export

US Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division. Families First Coronavirus Response Act: employer paid leave requirements. Accessed June 5, 2023. https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/pandemic/ffcra-employer-paid-leave

Congressional Research Service (CRS). The COVID-Related Tax Relief Act of 2020 and Other COVID-Related Tax Provisions in P.L. 116-260. Washington, DC: CRS; 2021. Accessed June 8, 2023. https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R46649

US Internal Revenue Service. COVID-19-related tax credits for paid leave provided by small and midsize businesses FAQs. Updated December 20, 2022. Accessed January 20, 2023. https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/covid-19-related-tax-credits-for-paid-leave-provided-by-small-and-midsize-businesses-faqs

Pichler S , Wen K , Ziebarth NR . COVID-19 emergency sick leave has helped flatten the curve in the United States. Health Aff (Millwood). 2020; 39(12):2197-2204.

Challenge Seattle. Our work: COVID-19 response. Accessed June 7, 2023. https://www.challengeseattle.com/covid-19

Challenge Seattle. Vaccine Playbook for Public-Private Partnerships. Seattle: Challenge Seattle; 2021. Accessed April 5, 2023. https://www.challengeseattle.com/_files/ugd/e29733_85ddb1ac8ee54759a971e885f1b6b32c.pdf

Laster D. COVID-19 Vaccine Action Command and Coordination System (VACCS) Center Final Report: Blueprint for Public-Private Partnering. Tumwater, WA: Washington State Department of Health; 2021. Accessed April 5, 2023. https://www.challengeseattle.com/_files/ugd/e29733_832592143b58401aab7b7f9790f1acec.pdf