The economic security of working families is strengthened by policies that lead to good paying jobs and that ensure basic protections and flexibility for workers. Earned paid sick time gives workers the flexibility to address health issues without having to sacrifice their jobs, their wages, or their family responsibilities. To show how this issue affects people in communities across Massachusetts, this brief examines the local rates of workers without access to earned paid sick time.
About one in three workers in Massachusetts does not have access to earned paid sick time. This issue affects people in every community of our Commonwealth. The least likely to have it are the lowest wage workers, those who can least afford to lose a day’s pay. In fact, more than half of workers earning under $35,000, roughly 54 percent, do not have earned paid sick time. But the issue also affects a lot of other workers throughout the state. (See Earned Paid Sick Time – Frequently Asked Questions). Compelling research shows us that these basic workplace protections can help both businesses and employees thrive. For more detail, please see: Balancing Work and Family: The Economic Effects of Earned Paid Sick Time.
The table below outlines the local rates of workers in Massachusetts that do not have paid sick time.
|
Workers
Lacking Earned Paid Sick Time by Cities and Towns |
|
|
NORTH |
% w/o EPST |
|
Billerica,
Andover, Tewksbury, & Wilmington |
30% |
|
City
of Lowell |
40% |
|
Central
Essex County (inc. Amesbury & Haverhill) |
32% |
|
East
Essex County (inc. Salem, Beverly, Gloucester, & Newburyport) |
34% |
|
Northwestern
Essex County (inc. Lawrence, Haverhill, & Methuen) |
39% |
|
South
Essex County (inc. Lynn, Swampscott, & Nahant) |
39% |
|
Eastern
Central Middlesex
County (inc. Waltham, Lexington,
Burlington, Bedford, & Lincoln) |
31% |
|
Northern
Middlesex
County (outside Lowell , inc. Dracut, Tyngsborough, Westford, &
Chelmsford) |
29% |
|
Peabody,
Danvers, Reading, North Reading, & Lynnfield |
32% |
|
Woburn,
Melrose, Saugus, Wakefield, & Stoneham |
31% |
|
GREATER
BOSTON |
% w/o EPST |
|
Cambridge |
32% |
|
City
of Boston - All neighborhoods |
37% |
|
Boston Neighborhoods Cluster --Allston,
Brighton, & Fenway |
46% |
|
Boston Neighborhoods Cluster --Back Bay,
Beacon Hill, Charlestown, E. Boston, Central, & S. End |
35% |
|
Boston Neighborhoods Cluster
--Dorchester & South Boston |
34% |
|
Boston Neighborhoods Cluster --Hyde
Park, Jamaica Plain, Roslindale, & West Roxbury |
29% |
|
Boston Neighborhoods Cluster --Mattapan
& Roxbury |
44% |
|
Malden
& Medford |
38% |
|
Newton
& Brookline |
28% |
|
Northeastern
Norfolk & Southeastern Middlesex Counties (inc. Wellesley &
Needham) |
29% |
|
Revere,
Chelsea, & Winthrop |
44% |
|
Somerville
& Everett |
38% |
|
Watertown,
Arlington, Belmont, & Winchester |
24% |
|
SOUTH/CAPE |
% w/o EPST |
|
Attleboro,
North Attleboro, Swansea, Seekonk, Rehoboth, & Plainville |
31% |
|
Bristol
(outside New Bedford City) & Southern Plymouth Counties (inc.
Westport, Acushnet, & Wareham) |
37% |
|
Central
Plymouth County (inc. Middleborough & Pembroke) |
34% |
|
Fall
River & Somerset |
43% |
|
Greater
Brockton (inc. Brockton, Stoughton, & Avon) |
36% |
|
Greater
Franklin (inc. Norfolk & Wretham) |
27% |
|
New
Bedford & Fairhaven |
41% |
|
Plymouth
& Bristol Counties (outside Brockton City) |
37% |
|
Plymouth,
Marshfield, Scituate, Duxbury, & Kingston |
34% |
|
Quincy
& Milton |
33% |
|
Randolph,
Norwood, Dedham, Canton, & Holbrook |
33% |
|
Taunton,
Mansfield, Norton, Raynham, Dighton, & Berkley |
35% |
|
Eastern
Cape Cod & the Islands (Eastern Barnstable County, Duke, &
Nantucket) |
39% |
|
Western
Cape Cod (Inner Cape Cod Towns & Barnstable) |
38% |
|
Weymouth,
Braintree, Hingham, Hull, & Cohasset |
31% |
|
CENTRAL |
% w/o EPST |
|
City
of Worcester |
37% |
|
East
Central Worcester County (inc. Westborough & Northborough) |
30% |
|
Framingham,
Marlborough & Natick |
34% |
|
Northeast
Worcester County (inc. Leominster, Fitchburg, & Gardner) |
38% |
|
South
Worcester County (inc. Sturbridge, Douglas, & Uxbridge) |
34% |
|
Southwest
Middlesex & East Worcester Counties (inc. Hopkinton, Ashland, &
Millis) |
29% |
|
West
Central Middlesex & East Worcester
Counties (inc. Acton, Concord, & Sudbury) |
27% |
|
West
Central Worcester County (inc. Hardwick, Spencer, & Brookfield) |
33% |
|
Worcester
& Middlesex Counties (outside Leominster, Fitchburg, & Gardner;
inc. Athol & Sterling) |
33% |
|
WEST |
% w/o EPST |
|
City
of Springfield |
40% |
|
Franklin
& North Hampshire Counties (inc. Greenfield & Montague) |
42% |
|
Hampden
County (inc. Chicopee, Ludlow, & Longmeadow) |
35% |
|
Pittsfield
|
38% |
|
West/East
Hampden & South Hampshire Counties (inc. Northampton, Belchertown
& Chester) |
36% |
|
Westfield
& Holyoke |
36% |
The table and map above are
based on the Institute for Women’s Policy Research analysis of
the 2010-2012
National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) and 2012 American Community
Survey
(ACS) and looks at specific geographic areas - Public
Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs), which
are areas that are large enough to produce
reliable
estimates. In most cases an area includes more than one city or town.
For large
areas, the two or three cities or towns are noted. For example, Central
Plymouth County includes but is not limited to Middleborough,
Bridgewater, and
Pembroke. Estimates are based on place of
residence,
regardless of place of work, and include people 18 years or older,
working in
private sector or state and local government. Estimates exclude workers
in the
federal government, the self-employed, and members of the armed forces.
This research was funded in part by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. We thank them for their support but acknowledge that the findings and conclusions presented in this report are those of MassBudget alone, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Foundation.