Associated Press

House Democrats touted paid sick leave as a centerpiece of their emergency coronavirus legislation, but it doesn't actually cover most American workers.

President Trump signed the bill into law on Wednesday evening.

Large companies employing 500 or more workers are exempt from complying, and small companies with fewer than 50 workers can lobby for an exemption.

"Any carve-out for employers puts workers at risk, and it becomes a public health concern," economist Elise Gould said.

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House Democrats led by Speaker Nancy Pelosi touted a big win last week when they passed emergency relief legislation for Americans hardest hit by the coronavirus crisis. They pointed in particular to the creation of a paid sick leave policy that would encourage employees to stay home and get their paycheck if they fall ill.

But the finer details of the bill also reveal it doesn't actually cover everyone and it could leave out millions of workers. It was amended to tighten eligibility for sick pay beyond two weeks, and it exempted healthcare providers and emergency responders. The House voted to pass the revisions on Monday, and the Senate later approved it as well.

Trump signed the legislation into law on Wednesday evening.

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act exempts companies employing over 500 workers from the provision extending 14 days of paid sick leave equal to 100% of a person's salary to anyone seeking medical care or needing to quarantine.

The legislation also extends paid family and medical leave for workers at two-thirds of their pay up to three months. The benefits expire after a year, and the federal government is footing the bill through payroll tax credits.

But only smaller and mid-sized businesses must comply. And businesses with fewer than 50 employees can also lobby for an exemption through the Labor Department if they believe granting the benefit would bankrupt them. It's not immediately clear what that process would look like.

Pelosi's office did not immediately return a request for comment. But she said on Sunday she didn't back using federal funds to enact a policy that should already be in place among large corporations.

"I don't support U.S. taxpayer money subsidizing corporations to provide benefits to workers that they should already be providing," she wrote on Twitter. "House Democrats will continue to prioritize strong emergency leave policies as we fight to put #FamiliesFirst."

How the bill leaves out a substantial chunk of American workers from getting sick pay

Large employers (500 or more workers) make up around 48% of the labor force, per data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Among these companies, around 89% have some paid sick leave policies in place, though it averages out to eight days, according to data from the Labor Department.

That means large businesses usually offer fewer days of sick leave than what would be mandated if they had to comply with the Families First Act. Public health experts have urged anyone who may have been exposed to or who shows symptoms of coronavirus to self-quarantine for 14 days.

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Even then, around 6.5 million workers don't have access to paid sick leave at these large companies, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Smaller businesses of 50 or fewer workers employ around 12.5 million workers who don't have sick pay, bringing the total number of workers who may not be impacted by the legislation at just over 20 million.

Elise Gould, a senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute, told Business Insider that providing pay to some workers who fall ill and must stay home was a positive first step.

But she said more needed to be done to keep people home without fear of losing a paycheck.

"It will expand coverage to millions of workers, but at the same time millions of them will fall through the cracks with the bill," Gould said. "The more people we send home, the more we flatten the curve," referring to efforts aimed at preventing the virus' spread to a point that's manageable for the nation's healthcare system.

Gould said she believed there wasn't a "good economic case" to exempt large businesses from the sick leave provisions.

"Any carve-out for employers puts workers at risk, and it becomes a public health concern," Gould said.

Studies have shown that cities and states that offer paid sick leave showed as much as 40% lower rates of influenza compared to those that didn't have a similar policy in place.

Some large companies are moving ahead to extend paid sick leave on their own. Target and Amazon are among them, The New York Times reported. Uber also said it would compensate drivers and delivery workers infected with coronavirus for up to 14 days.

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