How to Take Sick Leave to Care for a Family Member with a Serious Health Condition

The U.S. is among the minority of developed countries across the globe that does not actually mandate sick leave at the federal level. This is unlike France, Germany and so many other European countries. This means that, for millions of Americans, if you don’t show up for work when you or a family member is sick, you lose a day’s pay.

While about 72% of U.S. employees (excluding federal, military and agricultural workers) do indeed have access to paid sick leave, according to a March 2017 Bureau of Labor Statistics report, up to three million U.S. employees work while sick each week, according to a 2016 Health Services Research study from Cornell University. Many more work while a family member for which they care is sick. Some workers go into the office because they don't have any paid sick day benefits, while others simply succumb to America's work culture that tends to reward those who "power through" and silently suffer at their desks.

That's right, even when paid sick leave is granted, many Americans don't take advantage of it. A 2016 survey released by Wakefield Research found that 69% of working Americans don’t take sick days, even when they or a family member is legitimately ill and they're offered paid time off to take care of it. And, according to the National Partnership for Women and Families, 40% of private-sector workers and 80% of low-wage workers don’t receive any paid sick leave at all. Because women still bare the bulk of caregiving, juggling both work and caring for children and elderly relatives more than their male counterparts, the climate is only exacerbated for them.

Studies do suggest that the American public is very much in favor of paid sick leave. According to a 2015 poll by the Huffington Post, 70% of those surveyed reported believing that companies should be required to pay employees for sick time. Still, progress towards getting paid sick leave at the federal level has been slow. In fact, progress towards getting sick leave even in some companies is slow. Nearly a quarter of adults have been fired or, at the very least, threatened with being fired for taking time off to recover from an illness or to care for a sick family member or loved one, according to Family Values at Work.

So the question remains: Can you use sick leave to care for a family member? The answer is a nuanced one.

In some states, you can take paid time off to care for a sick loved one. The following 10 states and the District of Columbia all require employers to provide sick leave to their employees:

• Arizona
• California
• Connecticut
• District of Columbia
• Maryland
• Massachusetts
• Oregon
• Rhode Island
• Vermont
• Washington
• New Jersey

So what qualifies as a serious health condition for FMLA? Section 101(11) of the FMLA defines a serious health condition as "an illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition that involves:

1. inpatient care in a hospital, hospice, or residential medical care facility; or
2. continuing treatment by a health care provider.”

How do you request paid sick leave to care for a family member with a serious health condition?

1. Know your rights.

2. Make a plan.

3. Ask for leave in advance.

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