Andersen, Martin
[Author]
;
Maclean, Johanna Catherine
[Other];
Pesko, Michael F.
[Other];
Simon, Kosali I.
[Other]National Bureau of Economic Research
Effect of a Federal Paid Sick Leave Mandate on Working and Staying at Home During the COVID-19 Pandemic
: Evidence from Cellular Device Data
imprint:
Cambridge, Mass: National Bureau of Economic Research, 2020
Published in:NBER working paper series ; no. w27138
Extent:
1 Online-Ressource; illustrations (black and white)
Language:
English
DOI:
10.3386/w27138
Identifier:
Reproduction note:
Hardcopy version available to institutional subscribers
Origination:
Footnote:
System requirements: Adobe [Acrobat] Reader required for PDF files
Mode of access: World Wide Web
Description:
We study the effects of the temporary federal paid sick leave mandate that became effective April 1st, 2020 on 'social distancing,' as proxied by individuals' physical mobility behavior gleaned from cellular devices. The national paid leave policy was implemented in response to the COVID-19 outbreak and provided many private and public workers with up to two weeks of paid leave for own or family illness or dependent care. We study the impact of this policy using difference-in-differences methods leveraging pre-FFCRA county-level differences in the share of workers likely eligible for FFCRA benefits. We find that FFCRA increased the average number of hours at home, and reduced the share of the individuals likely at work. In particular, comparing the county with the lowest to highest FFCRA exposure, we find that the average daily hours at home per day increased 4.2% while the average hours not at home per day and working decreased by 7.7% and 6.1% post-policy