More than 26 million people working in the private sector have no access to earned sick time, or paid sick leave (PSL), for short-term health needs and preventive care.1 Many working people in the United States face an impossible choice when they are sick: stay home and risk their economic stability or go to work and risk their health and the public’s health. The vast majority (77%) 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 public health, allowing workers who have been exposed to any illness to quarantine. 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 overall absence rates.4 Amazon’s current PSL policy is to follow local, city and state ordinances.5 Since 2006, 37 jurisdictions, including 14 states have adopted PSL laws. This leaves most jurisdictions still lacking a mandate.6 Proactively establishing PSL for all of Amazon’s employees could help build employee satisfaction and brand credibility. Maintaining the current policy which delays action on PSL until jurisdictions pass a law could pose reputational risk, especially for Amazon which currently employs every 1 out of 153 workers in the US, dispersed across all fifty states. Amazon could benefit from extending PSL coverage to all of its employees. The initial cost is relatively low-- providing PSL is estimated to cost employers an average of 2.7 cents per hour of paid work7 —and PSL both increases productivity8 and reduces turnover, which in turn reduces costs associated with hiring.9 This is particularly important for companies with a high percentage of lower-wage employees where turnover is highest. We believe adopting a comprehensive, permanent, and public PSL policy would help make the future operating environment more equitable and mitigate reputational, financial, and regulatory risk to Amazon.