Resources & Publications
- Apr 02, 2013 | Jodie Levin-Epstein Getting Down to Business Newsletter - April 2013 Getting Down to Business is a CLASP monthly update on the latest news about business and paid leave. Read Online
- Mar 27, 2013 | Jodie Levin Epstein and Dr. Eileen Appelbaum Interview Protocol for MA Business Interviews on Earned Paid Sick Time Download PDF
- Mar 26, 2013 | Andrea Lindemann Gilliam and Liz Ben-Ishai Implementing Earned Sick Day Laws: First Out of the Gate: San Francisco's Sick Days Law Implementing a new law is always a complex process. But what happens when you are the first jurisdiction in the country to pass such a law? This was the unique challenge facing San Francisco when it passed the nation's first earned sick days law in 2006. The City and County government took on the challenge admirably, employing a variety of creative strategies to conduct outreach to the public, write meaningful rules, and ensure the law would be properly enforced. Download PDF
- Mar 20, 2013 | Jodie Levin-Epstein Business Voices: Implementation of Sick Days Laws is Straightforward Around the nation, city councils and state legislatures are increasingly considering legislation to establish a sick days' law. Employers, particularly those who are not familiar with sick days' policy, are leery of administering it. For some, this worry leads them to oppose passage of legislation. However, in locations where laws are already implemented, many businesses have stepped forward to acknowledge that administering sick days' policy is actually pretty simple. Download PDF
- Mar 19, 2013 | Jodie Levin-Epstein Workplace Safety and Earned Sick Days: Intersections and Opportunities for Advocacy This national audio conference discusses the intersections between worker safety issues and earned sick days policies. Read Online | Download Audio | Additional PDF
- Mar 04, 2013 | Liz Ben-Ishai Getting Down to Business Newsletter - March 2013 Getting Down to Business is a CLASP monthly update on the latest news about business and paid leave. Read Online
- Mar 01, 2013 | CLASP and ASBC Better Businesses and Better Workplaces: The Role of Comprehensive Business Certification Increasingly, businesses are seeking out certifications as tools to assess their impact and verify that their practices are consistent with their values. For job quality advocates, who are increasingly recognizing the crucial role of business support in successful campaigns, both certifying organizations and certified businesses can be valuable partners. This issue brief provides job quality advocates with a primer on the nuts and bolts of the certification movement and suggests ways advocates can foster fruitful relationships between the movements. Download PDF
- Feb 27, 2013 | Liz Ben-Ishai Implementing Earned Sick Days Laws: Learning from Seattle's Experience This issue brief draws upon Seattle's experience implementing its Paid Sick and Safe Time Ordinance to delineate best practices for implementing such laws. Seattle passed its earned sick days law in September 2011. The task of implementation in Seattle fell to the city's Office for Civil Rights (SOCR). CLASP spoke with SOCR staff to learn about their innovative approaches to outreach, implementation, and enforcement. Download PDF
- Feb 26, 2013 | CLASP Boosting Your Bottom Line - Business Outreach Presentation for Earned Sick Days Earned sick days advocates across the country are increasingly aware of the importance of cultivating business support for sick days legislation. This presentation is a tool for advocates in the early stages of business outreach for earned sick days campaigns. It presents the business case for earned sick days laws and can be adapted to fit the needs of particular campaigns. Download File
- Feb 07, 2013 | Liz Ben-Ishai Business Support for the Family and Medical Leave Act The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which enables workers to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid job-protected leave to care for their own serious illness, a sick family member, or to bond with a new baby, has been used by millions of workers since its passage in 1993. As this important piece of legislation celebrates its 20th anniversary, new data shows that the vast majority of businesses find administering the law easy, and 80 percent of small businesses favor the legislation. But the data also point to a pressing need for paid leave programs, like those in California and New Jersey. In those states, family leave insurance programs have made it possible for employees to take paid family leave, easing the financial burden of caring for oneself and one's family. Research shows that businesses in California have found the state's Paid Family Leave (PFL) program to be good for or have little effect on business. This brief from CLASP demonstrates business support for both the FMLA and paid family leave, while highlighting the pressing need for paid leave. Download PDF
- Feb 07, 2013 | Jodie Levin-Epstein Employer and Employee Experiences of FMLA: Implications of the New Federal Surveys The Department of Labor (DOL) recently released the results of two new surveys on the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). These are the first surveys conducted by the DOL on the FMLA in over a decade. Released just in time for the 20th anniversary of the passage of the FMLA, the results give us significant insight into both employer and employee experiences with this pivotal legislation. Read Online
- Feb 01, 2013 | Work/Life & Job Quality Getting Down to Business Newsletter - February 2013 Getting Down to Business is a CLASP monthly update on the latest news about business and paid leave. Read Online
- Jan 28, 2013 | CLASP, Families USA and the University of California Berkeley Center for Labor Research and Education Health Reform: Implications for Part-Time Work By 2014 millions of Americans will be able to access affordable health care for the first time. ObamaCare is historic legislation that will help workers who could not get affordable care through their employers or were unable to bear the costs of self-insurance. While there is a lot to celebrate, advocates, low wage workers and others are concerned that the law's focus on coverage for full-time employees might lead some employers to cut workers' hours. Press reports have fueled this worry. Read Online Additional PDF
- Jan 15, 2013 Comments on Inclusion of Work Data in Electronic Health Records These comments were submitted to the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology Policy Committee at HHS by CLASP and several partner organizations. The comments advocate for the inclusion of industry and occupation data in electronic health records in order to provide useful data for improving job quality. Download PDF
- Aug 30, 2012 Unions Win It: Paid Time Off Download PDF
- May 14, 2012 | CLASP & IWPR Paid Time Off: The Elements and Prevalence of Consolidated Leave Plans This report released by CLASP and the Institute for Women's Policy Research (IWPR) examines Paid Time Off (PTO) banks and their prevalence. Nearly one in five employees in the United States receive leave in the form of a PTO bank, but the contours of such policies are often little understood-especially outside of the human resources community. This report is a first step in understanding PTO banks so that further questions and insights about PTO banks and low-wage workers and their employers can be explored. Download PDF
- May 02, 2012 Letter of Support for Illinois Paid Sick Days Law SB 128 Download PDF
- Apr 30, 2012 | Andrea Lindemann 10 Steps to Implement D.C.'s Accrued Sick and Safe Leave Act of 2008 Four years ago, Washington D.C. became the second location in the country to enact a paid sick days law. Unfortunately, the law remains little-known about and under-enforced. CLASP has developed a guide to help businesses implement the law. The guide presents 10 basic requirements of the law and provides a sample policy. When sick leave policies are implemented, businesses can benefit from a healthier work environment and increased productivity and retention. Download PDF
- Oct 04, 2011 | CLASP & CEPR How Much Does Employee Turnover Really Cost? CLASP and the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) have released a turnover calculator, a dynamic new tool that allows employers to calculate how much turnover costs in just 10 questions. Employee turnover costs businesses millions each year, but many employers don't realize exactly how much it's costing their company. Workplace policies that support workers such as paid sick days and paid family leave can help employers reduce turnover and improve their bottom line. Read Online
- Jun 28, 2011 Flexible Scheduling for Low-wage Workers This national audio conference discusses a new report, Flexible Workplace Solutions for Low-wage Hourly Workers: A Framework for a National Conversation. Read Online | Download Audio
- May 18, 2011 The Economic and Social Impacts of a National Family Leave Insurance Program This audio conference discussed the economic and social impacts of one proposal for a national family leave insurance program, Family Security Insurance. Read Online | Download Audio | Additional PDF
- Feb 18, 2011 Restaurant Opportunities Centers United (ROC) On this national audio conference, Representative Donna Edwards announced the WAGES Act, a bill to help close the wage gap between tipped employees and other workers by raising the minimum wage for these workers to $3.75—the first raise in 20 years. Read Online | Download Audio | Download Audio
- Feb 17, 2011 | CLASP Two Years Later: Impacts of Select ARRA Programs for Low-Income Workers & Families This document looks at select provisions in the Recovery Act that affected low-income people and their families. In areas where there is available data, it notes the impact of the program on the number of people who benefited from ARRA provisions. While the effect of the Recovery Act will be debated and analyzed by policy experts and researchers for years to come, some of the early evidence makes it clear that the Recovery Act benefited the nation by easing some immediate effects of the recession and preventing deeper hardship. Read Online | Download PDF
- Dec 15, 2010 | Elizabeth Lower-Basch Part-Time Work in Recession and Recovery This presentation by CLASP senior policy analyst Elizabeth Lower-Basch explores the circumstances of part-time workers, the reasons for part-time work, and what has happened to part-time work during the recession. She also considers the implications of part-time work for the Unemployment Insurance and Workforce Investment Act systems. Read Online | Download PDF
- Nov 18, 2010 | Jodie Levin-Epstein Work Flex--Best Practices for Low Wage Workers In this national audio conference call, Turck, Inc., an employer who extends flexible practices to all workers, will explain why and how the company does what it does. Too often employers embrace workplace flexibility just for higher wage workers. Turck Inc. in Minneapolis, MN provides all of its regular full and part-time employees with a range of supports, including paid time off (PTO) and unpaid parental leave, a wellness program, unpaid leave for attending a child's school events, and even tuition assistance. Read Online | Download Audio
- Nov 15, 2010 | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Paid Sick Leave in the United States This issue of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Program Perspectives takes a closer look at paid sick leave benefits, including both the percentage of employees with access to paid sick leave benefits and employer costs for sick leave. Download PDF
- Nov 10, 2010 | New York State Paid Family Leave Coalition Healthy Businesses Need Healthy People The New York State Paid Family Leave Coalition created a fact sheet outlining paid sick days can enhance a company's bottom line. Download PDF
- Nov 10, 2010 | District of Columbia Department of Employment Services Official Notice: Accrued Safe and Sick Leave Act of 2008 The District of Columbia Department of Employment Services official notice explaining the Accrued Safe and Sick Leave Act of 2008 for employees and employers. Download PDF
- Nov 10, 2010 | US Chamber of Commerce Sample Time Off Policies Sample company policy statements for holiday and vacation leave. Download File
- Sep 09, 2010 | Jodie Levin-Epstein Profitable: Flexible Workplace for ALL Workers This audio conference will give you a chance to hear about employers who operate differently and help all employees perform well; you'll also learn what happens when low wage workers are not given that chance. Listen to the audio. Just click below. Additional resources are available. Read Online | Download Audio
- Aug 30, 2010 | Andrea Lindemann How Women-Owned Businesses Can Support Paid Sick Days A CLASP fact sheet detailing how women-owned businesses can support paid sick days. Download PDF
- Aug 17, 2010 | Andrea Lindemann Mind Your Business Engaging businesses can be time intensive and often requires utilizing and developing personal relationships. It is worth it in the end, as businesses can support your work and neutralize opposition. They can testify in favor of bills, write Op Eds and letters of support, speak to the media, and counter or neutralize business association opposition. Here are three simple steps to recruiting a business to support paid sick days. Download PDF
- Jul 02, 2010 | Jodie Levin-Epstein Paid Time Off is Taking Off In this audio conference, we will discuss the details and findings of World at Work's new study on Paid Time Off (PTO). A growing trend among employers, PTO offers employees flexibility and eases administrative costs for employers. However, very little research has been done on the benefits and drawbacks of PTO. Read Online | Download Audio | Additional PDF
- Apr 01, 2010 | Eric Odier-Fink Letter of Support: Justice Clothing A letter of support to members of Congress for the passage the Healthy Families Act from Eric Odier-Fink, a small business owner of Justice Clothing in Bangor, Maine. Read Online | Download PDF
- Feb 01, 2010 | Thomas E. Geidt California Supreme Court Rules That Uncapped Sick Leave Policies Are Not Covered By California's "Kin Care" Law A client alert from law offices of Paul Hastings explaining that the California Supreme Court has issued a significant ruling on the scope of California's "kin care" law, Labor Code 233, which entitles employees in certain circumstances to use paid sick leave to care for ill family members. The Court held that when an employer's sick leave policy does not provide a measurable, banked number of paid sick days in a calendar year, the kin care law does not apply. McCarther v. Pacific Telesis Group. Paul Hastings represented Pacific Telesis and the other defendants in the case. Read Online | Download PDF
- Jan 29, 2010 | Lexer Quamie Award-Winning Employers: State by State CLASP has compiled a state-by-state listing of firms that have been recognized through national awards for their workplace policies. Read Online
- Jan 25, 2010 | CLASP Federal Policy Recommendations for 2010 Our nation faces many domestic challenges, including improving access to affordable health care, improving access to education as well as education outcomes, and providing debt and foreclosure relief. CLASP's 2010 federal policy recommendations are equally essential to achieving healthy and thriving families and improving the nation's prosperity. Read Online | Download PDF
- Dec 14, 2009 | Jodie Levin-Epstein Scheduling Hourly Workers in A Just in Time World: Can Employees and Employer Sync the Clock? This audioconference provides the latest research on how employers with low wage workers are addressing this issue and hear first-hand how Costco approaches scheduling of workers. Read Online | Download Audio | Additional PDF
- Sep 30, 2009 | Jodie Levin-Epstein Healthy Families Act: Advocates' Answers to Businesses' Frequently Asked Questions This document provides a distilled version of the Healthy Families Act in a Question and Answer form and is aimed at dispelling any myths about the legislation. Download PDF
- Sep 30, 2009 | CLASP Paid Sick Days: A Comparison of Three Cities' Laws and Pending Federal Legislation A comparison table of the bills in San Francisco, Washington DC, Milwaukee, and the federal Healthy Families Act. Download PDF
- Sep 30, 2009 | CLASP Paid Sick Days: Reaching Out to Businesses to Say YES to a Level Playing Field Paid Sick Days: Reaching Out to Businesses to Say YES to a Level Playing Field is a resource guide to help state and local advocates recruit business leaders, owners, and trade groups to help gain support for paid sick day's legislation. Download PDF
- Sep 01, 2009 | CLASP Federal Policy Recommendations for 2009 and Beyond The Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) has developed an extensive federal policy agenda for President Obama and the 111th Congress directed at improving the lives of low income people. That agenda is outlined in this document. Download PDF
- Jul 08, 2009 | Elizabeth Lower-Basch Flexible Work Arrangements and Low-Wage Work In this New America Foundation forum, CLASP Senior Policy Analyst Elizabeth Lower-Basch presented on the implications of unpredictable work schedules for low-wage workers and their families and discussed possible policy responses. Read Online
- Apr 24, 2009 | Elizabeth Lower-Basch and Mark Greenberg Single Mothers in the Era of Welfare Reform The 1990s welfare reform and expansion of work supports caused an historic increase in the share of single mothers who were working. This chapter examines the policy changes of the 1990s and since along with the subsequent employment and earnings outcomes for single mothers. It considers how the policy changes affected both employment levels and job quality and discusses implications for next steps for federal and state policies. This chapter is from the 2009 LERA Research Volume, The Gloves-off Economy: Workplace Standards at the Bottom of America's Labor Market, A. Bernhardt, H. Boushey, L. Dresser, and C. Tilly, eds., Champaign IL: Labor and Employment Relations Association, pp. 163--190. Copyright 2008 by the Labor and Employment Relations Association; Champaign, IL. Reprinted with permission. The volume is available through Cornell University Press. Download PDF
- Apr 20, 2009 | David Fischer and Jeremy Reiss From Stimulus to System: Using the ARRA to Serve Disadvantaged Jobseekers This paper explores models and mechanisms for connecting low-skilled jobseekers to ARRA-related job opportunities--including community-benefit agreements, job linkage/first source hiring, and goals and standards for job creation and job quality--and for subsequently engaging jobseekers in further skill-building and educational programs. Download PDF
- Nov 12, 2008 | CLASP Recover, Renew, Rebuild: Workforce Policies for a Strong and Fair Economy Education and training are major contributors to economic prosperity. They are drivers of economic mobility and opportunity. Workforce policies to help individuals who are struggling in the labor market also are a critical component of a recovery package to get America working again. This report contains CLASP workforce policy recommendations for Congress and the Administration to address the immediate economic crisis and to make a down payment on the longer-term agenda of building a stronger and more equitable economy. It includes actions they can take to: help workers and families recover from the current recession; renew the nation's commitment to good jobs and upward mobility for all and rebuild middle class jobs. Read Online | Download PDF
- Nov 07, 2008 | CLASP Beyond Stimulus: Shoring Up the Safety Net, Securing the American Dream The United States is entering into a recession which many will be longer and more severe than any we have faced in recent decades. As Congress and the new President consider what actions to take, CLASP calls for a package that goes beyond stimulus aimed at temporarily boosting consumer demand. This paper outlines actions that Congress should take immediately to strengthen safety net programs that provide critical assistance to vulnerable workers and families and to ensure that all Americans have the opportunity to share in the benefits of recovery. Download PDF
- Oct 16, 2008 | Alan W. Houseman and the CLASP Staff CLASP Federal Policy Recommendations for 2009 and Beyond CLASP has developed an extensive federal policy agenda for the next President and Congress directed at improving the lives of low income people. The detailed agenda makes recommendations for changes in policy at all levels of the federal government: the White House, Federal departments and agencies, the budget and appropriations' process, and the law-making process in Congress. This publication provides an overview of our agenda organized into eleven key recommendations. Taken as a whole, the eleven recommendations call for increasing investments in effective programs and funding streams that concretely help children, youth, and families thrive; strengthening and modernizing the nation's safety net; and building supportive pathways for low-income youths and adults to good jobs that sustain families and communities. Download PDF
- Sep 11, 2008 | Elizabeth Lower-Basch Families and Workplaces in the Twenty-First Century: Multiple Roles Place Heavy Demands on American Workers This testimony on work-life challenges was given before the Subcommittee on Income Security and Family Support of the Committee on Ways and Means on September 11, 2008, as part of a hearing on the pressures facing American workers. Download PDF
- Mar 04, 2008 | CLASP The Congressional Budget Resolution: Recommendations for a Blueprint in Support of Low-Income Individuals and Families President Bush's budget proposal sends a simple and stark message: even in an economic downturn, those at the bottom of the income scale don't matter. It is now Congress' turn to prepare a budget plan. The Congressional budget resolution should inflict no harm to low-income workers, restore prior cuts, and invest in the future by supporting the workforce and ensuring safe and healthy children. Download PDF
- Sep 11, 2007 | Jodie Levin-Epstein More Than a Paycheck: A Conversation On Why Job Quality Matters and What We Can Do About It The American Dream promises that if you are willing to work hard, you will be able to achieve a better life for yourself and your family. But too many people are stuck in bad jobs -- jobs that pay poverty-level wages and offer no benefits, jobs with little opportunity for advancement, jobs in which workers don't know from week to week if they'll get enough hours to pay their bills, jobs that workers can lose for staying home with a sick child. In this audio conference, you'll hear about the state of job quality in the U.S. today and how a focus on improving job quality can help reduce poverty and support families. You'll learn why poor job quality is an issue that especially affects women. And you'll find out about a proposed New York State law that would have required state agencies to focus on placing clients in jobs that pay sustainable wages. Download Audio | Additional PDF
- Sep 03, 2007 | Elizabeth Lower-Basch Opportunity at Work: Improving Job Quality This paper describes the state of job quality in the U.S. today and makes the case that improving job quality is a critical part of the agenda for reducing poverty, supporting families, rewarding effort, and expanding opportunity for all. Download PDF | Additional PDF
- Aug 31, 2007 | Elizabeth Lower-Basch A View from Low-Wage America - On Labor Day, Job Quality Cited as Key to Poverty Reduction In this podcast from the Fairness Initiative on Low-Wage Work, Elizabeth Lower-Basch discusses the report Opportunity at Work. Read Online
- May 22, 2007 Gaining Leverage to Improve Job Quality: Lessons from Union Organizing in the New Economy What can workforce development professionals learn from sector based union organizing initiatives about overcoming some of the challenges to improving job quality in the new economy? Which state and local policies can support workers rights to organize and improve job quality for low-wage workers? CLASP’s upcoming conference call will address these questions and more! We hope that you can join us for this exciting call with experts from the field who will highlight successful union organizing efforts in the public and private sector, and discuss the implications of these initiatives for state and federal policy. This audio conference is part of CLASP’s Opportunity at Work initiative, which focuses on creating better jobs for a stronger economy. Download Audio | Additional PDF
- Apr 06, 2007 Making Low-wage Jobs Family Friendly: An Oxymoron or Cutting Edge? (Part-2) Does workforce advancement sometimes stall because job schedules conflict with kids' care or stable parenting? Does family friendly translate into job retention? What are the research findings related to welfare "success stories"? What are some chain store practices and policies that are making a difference so that low-wage service jobs might be more family friendly? What role do supervisors play? What has one employer done for all his employees -- at all wages -- to engage them in decision-making and in scheduling? Download Audio | Additional PDF
- Mar 15, 2007 Paid Sick Days: Why it Matters to Families and the Latest Developments There is no minimum standard for paid sick days for workers. As a result, about half of workers do not have paid sick days. This means that some workers lose wages if they stay home with a child with pink eye; others can lose their jobs - and do. Other workers come to work sick. This is a family, public health, and employer issue that impacts all workers, and particularly those in low wage jobs. In San Francisco, the voters just passed a referendum that establishes paid sick days in the city. Learn about other paid sick days policy developments around the country and in the new Congress. More cities and states are looking at this working condition and taking action. You can too. Download Audio | Additional PDF
- Mar 09, 2007 Making Low-wage Jobs Family Friendly: An Oxymoron or Cutting Edge? (Part-1) How are some clothing and grocery chain stores restructuring low-wage service jobs to make them more family friendly? How does advance notice help with childcare, stress, absenteeism, and productivity? What role do supervisors play? What's the bottom line on health - for the business, for the worker and family? Does family friendly translate into job retention? What has one major employer done -- and why - to help workers at all incomes meet work obligations and family responsibilities? Download Audio | Additional PDF
- Mar 08, 2007 | Jodie Levin-Epstein Responsive Workplaces: The Business Case for Employment that Values Fairness and Families More and more, working parents have dual--and dueling--responsibilities on the job and at home. Some employers have adapted and made their workplaces responsive to working parents, offering, for example, flexible scheduling and paid time off. Often, such measures have benefited the employers, too, demonstrating that businesses can do well by doing good. This article--reprinted from Mother Load, a special report from The American Prospect on family-friendly workplaces--addresses the business case for workplaces that respond to families' needs. Download PDF
- Feb 08, 2007 | Jodie Levin-Epstein Here's a Tip: When Restaurant and Hotel Workers Don't Have Paid Sick Days, It Hurts Us All Restaurant and hotel workers are typically low-paid employees, and their employers rarely provide them with paid sick days. Instead, these workers are forced to make difficult choices when they or their family members are sick, including coming to work sick--which also presents a public health risk. This fact sheet details both the need for paid sick days for restaurant and hotel workers and some current efforts to ensure that workers have them. Download PDF
- Feb 01, 2007 | Elizabeth Lower-Basch Family and Medical Leave Act: Response to Request for Information In December, the Department of Labor published a request for information concerning the implementation of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). In these comments, CLASP expresses support for continuing current policies to protect workers who need to take leave and argues for expanding FMLA to more workers and providing paid leave. Download PDF
- Dec 04, 2006 Opportunity At Work Series: Getting the Job Quality Picture Right: What's the Problem? What's the Solution? Examines some problems and solutions for attaining job quality for low-income workers. Download Audio
- Dec 01, 2006 | Natalie Branosky, Mark Greenberg, Elisa Minoff et al Staying On, Stepping Up The issue of promoting employment retention and advancement is an important topic in UK policy debates, as it is in the U.S. This report discusses research and experience that might be used to strengthen the U.K.'s efforts. In the third chapter--"Employment retention: evidence from the UK and the US"-- Elisa Minoff and Mark Greenberg from CLASP and Natalie Branosky from the Centre for Economic and Social Inclusion provide a survey and discussion of the employment retention research and experience for single parents in the U.S. and U.K. This report was published by One Parent Families, a British charity which supports lone parents and their children. For more information, please go to www.oneparentfamilies.org.uk. Download PDF
- Nov 01, 2006 | Thomas E. Geidt New San Francisco Law Mandates Paid Sick Leave for Illnesses of Employees and Family Members Read Online | Download PDF
- Oct 31, 2006 | Jodie Levin-Epstein with Laura Boyd Paid Sick Days Legislation: A Legislator's Guide Unlike most of the nations of the world, the U.S. has no national paid sick days policy. But lawmakers are starting to address the issue at the local and state levels. This guide, a joint publication of CLASP and the Women Legislators' Lobby, is intended to help legislators think through the provisions that make up paid sick days legislation. It identifies ten primary issues to consider when moving from a hypothetical idea to concrete legislation, and it offers several possible options for addressing each. Download PDF
- Aug 17, 2006 | Evelyn Ganzglass Ten Years after Welfare Reform, It's Time to Make Work Work for Families On the 10th anniversary of passage of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, CLASP calls for the implementation of a more holistic set of strategies that truly expand opportunities for low-income families to move into the middle class and achieve the American dream. Download PDF
- Aug 01, 2006 | Webb Lyons Flex in the City: The Story of a Mayor and His Vision In Houston, Mayor Bill White has taken a personal role in fostering a workplace flexibility initiative. The Houston effort is designed not only to give workers more control over their lives, but also to reduce traffic congestion. The Mayor and his staff are gearing up for "Flex in the City," a two-week period designed to get more employers to adopt a workplace flex option. This issue brief, the fourth in CLASP's work-life balance series, links to a live 10-minute interview with the Mayor and also points to other programs and legislation around the U.S. that make the connection between workplace flexibility and reduced traffic congestion. Download PDF
- Jul 31, 2006 | Bill White with Jodie Levin-Epstein Flexible Work Time: An Interview with Mayor White Jodie Levin-Epstein interviews Houston Mayor Bill White on his "Flex in the City" initiative and how to engage employers. Download Audio
- Jul 20, 2006 | Jodie Levin-Epstein Getting Punched: The Job and Family Clock...It's Time for Flexible Work for Workers of All Wages Get the facts on the dramatic labor market changes that result in more and more workers facing dual and dueling responsibilities -- those at work and those at home. Businesses that recognize this tension address it through responsive scheduling and paid time off; and, these businesses benefit from cost savings when they do. Getting Punched suggests 10 ways that government should get more involved in promoting responsive workplaces for workers of all wages. It's about time. Download PDF
- Jul 10, 2006 | Jodie Levin-Epstein Get the Prescription: Child Care Workers Need Paid Sick Days This handy fact sheet lays out the importance of paid sick days to child care workers. In Congress, states, and cities, initiatives are arising to establish paid sick days laws so that workers who are sick or need to care for a family member do not lose a job or wages if they take some days off. About half of workers in the U.S. are without paid sick days. For child care workers, the lack of paid sick days is particularly problematic. Child care workers have a double whammy reason to support paid sick days: these workers need it not only for themselves but also for the parents of the children in their care; otherwise, parents with sick children who face losing a day's wages may try to leave a sick child with the child care worker, despite any rules that say otherwise. Download PDF
- Jun 01, 2006 | TANF 2006: CLASP- CBPP Series Not Just Any Job - Helping TANF Recipients Access Good Jobs Although many TANF recipients have entered the labor market, many former recipients remain poor, and continually struggle in low-wage jobs. Research has shown that the type of jobs in which TANF recipients are placed initially have long-term implications for both employment retention and earnings. This conference call highlights strategies that have shown promise in helping low-income individuals gain access to jobs that will lead to opportunities for advancement. Download Audio
- Apr 03, 2006 | Hannah Matthews Child Care Assistance Helps Families Work: A Review of the Effects of Subsidy Receipt on Employment Reliable and stable child care helps parents retain steady employment and reduces workplace absenteeism, but the high costs of care challenge many families, particularly low-income working parents. Child care assistance can help. This policy brief reviews relevant research and finds that low-income mothers who receive child care subsidies are more likely to be employed, to stay off welfare, and to have higher earnings. For that reason, increasing investments in child care assistance is necessary to help families move from welfare to work and to help low-income parents continue working. Download PDF
- Nov 18, 2005 Better Business: Making Work "Work" for Employers and Employees Many efforts to provide family support at the workplace have been framed as helping either business or employees. But a new movement is looking at the mutual benefits of making work "work" for both. The business case for such efforts includes the attraction, development, and retention of employees, as well as community economic development. What are some examples in small, mid-sized, and larger companies of new approaches to make work "work"? Guests: Ellen Galinsky, Families and Work Institute; Donna Klein, Corporate Voices for Working Families Download Audio
- Oct 14, 2005 Better Jobs: New Ways to Raise Income for Welfare Families Download Audio | Additional PDF
- Jun 29, 2005 | Jodie Levin-Epstein How to Exercise Flexible Work: Take Steps with a "Soft Touch" Law In the U.K., a new "soft touch" law gives some employees the right to ask their employers for a change in work arrangements. This brief, the third in the Work-Life Balance Series, describes how U.K. employers partnered with government on work-life balance, highlights findings about flexible work, and identifies issues to explore in any U.S. adaptation. Click here for an annotated version of this brief, which also includes an appendix of U.K. surveys on the soft touch law. Download PDF
- Jun 17, 2005 Paid Sick Days: Developments in the U.S. and Lessons from Abroad Download Audio | Additional PDF
- Feb 28, 2005 | Jodie Levin-Epstein Presenteeism and Paid Sick Days Employers who do not provide paid sick days may feel it is too expensive to pay for workers who do not come to work. However, new research suggests that when workers are sick on the job, their presence comes at a cost to employers--the \"hidden\" cost of reduced productivity. This four-page paper defines \"presenteeism\" and discusses what can and is being done about it. Download PDF
- Jan 28, 2005 Right to Request Flexible Work: U.K. Emerging Lessons Download Audio | Additional PDF
- Jan 04, 2005 | Jodie Levin-Epstein Taking the Next Step: What Can the U.S. Learn about Sick Leave from New Zealand? This policy brief, based on the report High Wire Act and the second in the Work-Life Balance Series, looks at what New Zealand has done to provide paid sick days for its workers. Drawing from the New Zealand experience, the brief then provides recommendations on what United States policymakers can do to ensure that workers have paid sick days. Download PDF
- Dec 10, 2004 | Jodie Levin-Epstein Taking the Next Step: What Can the U.S. Learn about Parental Leave from New Zealand? This brief, the first in the Work-Life Balance Series, discusses New Zealand's experience with paid parental leave and includes qualitative data from 17 New Zealand small businesses on their experiences with their new law. It concludes with policy implications and some next steps for the United States in this arena. The brief summarizes the key findings from the report High Wire Act: Balancing Families and Jobs at Precarious Points by Jodie Levin-Epstein. Download PDF
- Sep 14, 2004 | Steve Savner and Jared Bernstein Can Better Skills Meet Better Jobs? This article, from the September 2004 issue of American Prospect, exhorts supply-side and demand-side advocates to form a complementary agenda to meet both sides' needs. The authors suggest not only providing more access to quality job training but then also creating the jobs when they don't already exist. Read Online
- Sep 01, 2004 | Jodie Levin-Epstein High-Wire Act: Balancing Families and Jobs at Precarious Points This report, prepared by Levin-Epstein during an Ian Axford Fellowship in New Zealand, examines two work-leave policies: parental leave and sick days leave. It considers the implications of these policies, particularly for low-income families and for small businesses, in New Zealand and the United States. Download PDF