like influenza. (5) A 2012 study published in the American Journal of Public Health found that a lack of workplace policies like paid sick days contributed to an additional 5,000,000 cases of influenza-like illness during the H1N1 pandemic of 2009. (6) An analysis examining influenza rates following the implementation of comprehensive paid sick time laws in seven major cities in the United States found that when workers gained access to paid sick time in those cities, the general influenza rate in the population decreased by 5.5 to 6.5 percent. This analysis by the National Bureau of Economic Research estimates that those laws helped prevent about 100 influenza-like infections per week for every 100,000 people. (7) Paid sick days contribute to more cost-effective use of health care resources. A 2011 study by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research found that a universal paid sick days policy would reduce preventable visits to the emergency room and result in cost savings of $1,100,000,000 per year, including $500,000,000 in savings for public health insurance programs like Medicare and Medicaid. (8) The American Productivity Audit completed in 2003 found that lost productivity due to illness costs $226,000,000,000 annually, and that 71 percent of that cost stems from presenteeism—the practice of employees coming to work while ill. Studies in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine and the Journal of the American Medical Association show that presenteeism is a larger productivity drain than either absenteeism or short-term disability. (9) Working while sick also increases a worker’s probability of suffering an injury on the job. A 2012 study published by the American Journal of Public Health found that workers with access to paid sick leave were 28 percent less likely than workers without paid sick leave to suffer nonfatal occupational injuries. (10) Workers’ access to paid sick time varies dramatically by wage level, as demonstrated by the following: (A) For private sector workers— (i) for