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Who Cares? Paid Sick Leave Mandates, Care-Giving, and Gender

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Abstract

We use employment data from the Current Population Survey to assess the efficacy of state-mandated paid sick leave policies on leave-taking behavior with a focus on any variation by gender. We find that these policies increase leave taking for care-giving for men by 10-20%, and this effect is strongest for men with young children in the household. In addition, we find that Hispanic men and men without a bachelor’s degree, who historically have had low access to paid sick leave, are 20–25% more likely to take care-giving leave. By comparison, we do not find evidence that these policies affect leave taking for own sickness for men or women, nor do we find evidence that these policies affect care-giving leave taking for women. Our evidence highlights the importance of studying care-giving leave within the context of paid leave policies and the importance of considering gender differences in the treatment effect within this context.

Suggested Citation

  • Tanya Byker & Elena Patel & Shanthi Ramnath, 2023. "Who Cares? Paid Sick Leave Mandates, Care-Giving, and Gender," Working Paper Series WP 2023-14, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.
    • Handle: RePEc:fip:fedhwp:96037
    DOI: 10.21033/wp-2023-14
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Henrik Kleven & Camille Landais & Johanna Posch & Andreas Steinhauer & Josef Zweimüller, 2024. "Do Family Policies Reduce Gender Inequality? Evidence from 60 Years of Policy Experimentation," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 16(2), pages 110-149, May.
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    6. Goodman-Bacon, Andrew, 2021. "Difference-in-differences with variation in treatment timing," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 225(2), pages 254-277.
    7. Stearns, Jenna & White, Corey, 2018. "Can paid sick leave mandates reduce leave-taking?," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 227-246.
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    Cited by:

    1. Maclean, Johanna Catherine & Pabilonia, Sabrina Wulff, 2025. "The effects of state paid sick leave mandates on parental childcare time," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    2. Sumedha Gupta & Johanna Catherine Maclean & Christopher J. Ruhm & Kosali I. Simon, 2025. "The Impact of State Paid Sick Leave Mandates on Medicaid-financed Prescription Medications," NBER Working Papers 34485, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

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    JEL classification:

    • H31 - Public Economics - - Fiscal Policies and Behavior of Economic Agents - - - Household
    • J14 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of the Elderly; Economics of the Handicapped; Non-Labor Market Discrimination
    • J38 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Public Policy

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