Is New York's mandatory paid sick leave law hurting businesses?

Nope.

In fact, mandatory paid sick leave appears to be faring well in New York City, by far the biggest of 26 U.S. cities to have passed such legislation. In a survey of New York businesses, 85 percent of employers said the 2013 law had had no effect on their business costs, 91 percent reported no reduction in hiring, and 94 percent said there had been no effect on business productivity. The study found most city businesses saw the policy passage as a "nonevent," Slate reports. Meanwhile, more than three in four employees reported having taken advantage of the benefit.

The findings notably match those of cities like San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, D.C., where paid sick leave has also made little splash as far as harming business. Plus, plenty of research has connected paid sick leave policies to happier workers, more productive offices, and even fewer flu outbreaks. So maybe letting workers stay home when they're sick isn't so bad after all?

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