The Urgent Need for Universal and Permanent Paid Sick Leave Legislation
This report, titled No Nova Scotian Should Have to Work Sick, The Urgent Need for Universal and Permanent Paid Sick Leave Legislation, examines the need for paid sick leave in Nova Scotia and what it should look like.
Authored by a team of researchers at Acadia University, the report underlines that for paid sick leave to be effective, it must be universal, paid, adequate, permanent, accessible and employer-provided. It recommends that employers be legislated to provide 10 paid days per year to allow workers time to access preventative health services or to recover from common illnesses
Prior to the pandemic, only 46% of Nova Scotia workers had paid sick leave provided by their employers. A total of 69% of workers who earn $25,000 do not have access to paid sick leave. The data also shows that younger workers and those with high school education or less have the least access. Only 28% of those who work in seasonal, term or on-call jobs have access to paid sick leave.
This report also reviews temporary sick leave policies from federal, provincial, and territorial jurisdictions in Canada to demonstrate how they must be improved.
About the authors
Dr. Rachel K. Brickner is a Professor in the Politics Department at Acadia and a Research Associate at the CCPA Nova Scotia. She teaches a broad selection of courses in the subfield of comparative politics. Her scholarly interests have an overarching focus on labour rights and workers’ activism throughout the Americas. Dr. Brickner’s ongoing research projects explore the politics of public education in the United States and Canada through the lens of a feminist ethic of care and the work experiences and well-being of workers in Nova Scotia. Earlier work, including SSHRC-funded research, has focused on union activism of women and precarious workers in the food service industry, as well as the rights of migrant workers.
Dr. Rebecca (Becky) Casey is an Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology Acadia and a Research Associate at the CCPA Nova Scotia. She teaches research methods and courses in aging, disability, and employment. She is the co-author of the 2025 CCPA NS report with Dr. Christine Saulnier “The Foundations of Decent Work. An Evaluation of Nova Scotia Labour Standards” and the 2019 CCPA NS report “A Rising Tide to Lift All Boats”. Dr. Casey was involved with the SSHRC partnership grant (co-leads Leah F. Vosko and Mary Gellatly) project “Closing the Enforcement Standards Enforcement Gap” and is a co-author of “Closing the Enforcement Gap: Improving Employment Standards Protections for People in Precarious Jobs” (University Press 2020). Dr. Casey has published in the areas of aging with a disability, injured workers with permanent impairments, employment standards, child maltreatment, and student and worker well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic.
