WHEREAS: Nearly 28 million people working in the private sector in the U.S. have no access to earned sick time, or “paid sick leave” (PSL), for short-term health needs and preventive care.1 Working people in the United States face an impossible choice when they are sick: to stay home and risk their economic stability, or to go to work and risk their health and the public’s health.
The vast majority (62%) of the lowest earning 10% of American employees do not have access to PSL.2 48% of Latinx workers and 36% of Black workers report having no paid time away from work of any kind.3
As the COVID-19 pandemic has shown, PSL is a crucial contributor to improved public health outcomes, allowing workers exposed to illness to quarantine. One study found a 56% reduction in COVID-19 cases per state as a result of temporary federally mandated PSL,4 and others an 11-30% reduction in influenza- like illnesses from state and local mandates.5 State and local PSL mandates have been shown to reduce the rate at which employees report to work ill in low-wage industries where employers don’t tend to provide PSL, lowering disease and absence rates.6
PSL increases productivity7 and reduces turnover, which reduces hiring costs.8 This is important for lower-wage industries with high turnover. Companies across sectors, such Darden,9 Facebook,10 Home Depot, Levi’s,11 and Patagonia12 are expanding and disclosing their policies to benefit their employees and bolster their brands.13
Yum! Brands discloses that it provides 4 Weeks Vacation + Holidays.14 However, it does not publicly describe its paid sick leave policy, aside from noting the company is “expanding paid sick time” in the 2021 sustainability report.15
It is not clear if there are any PSL provisions at YUM! Brands to protect franchise employees. YUM has 53,000 restaurants (KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, Habit Burger) in 157 countries and reports that 98% of these stores are franchised.16
More transparency on the company’s policies, such as worker eligibility requirements, hours of PSL provided by worker classification, requirements for using PSL, applicability to workers of company- owned versus franchise locations, and whether PSL can be used to care for a family member who is ill, will help investors understand how the company manages this human capital management, brand maintenance, and public health issue.
Increasing transparency of Yum! Brands’ paid sick leave policy would help the company demonstrate how it is implementing its commitment to “providing safe and healthy work environments for all employees.”