http://www.clasp.org/issues/topic_in_focus.xml?type=work_life_and_job_quality&id=0004 In Focus articles from the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) en-us Sat, 25 May 2013 05:29:55 -0500 info@clasp.org webmaster@clasp.org 40 Fri, 01 Mar 2013 00:00:00 -0600 http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=work_life_and_job_quality&id=0063 Today, CLASP and its partner, the American Sustainable Business Council (ASBC), released a new tool for job quality advocates, including advocates for earned sick days and paid family leave. The jointly produced brief provides advocates with a primer on the nuts and bolts of the business certification movement and suggests ways to foster fruitful relationships between the movement and campaigns for improved job quality, such as earned sick days campaigns. http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=work_life_and_job_quality&id=0063 Wed, 27 Feb 2013 00:00:00 -0600 http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=work_life_and_job_quality&id=0062 Advocates in Seattle fought hard to build the support necessary to pass the cityaEUR(TM)s Paid Sick and Safe Time (PSST) Ordinance. But the hard work did not end when the law passed in September 2011. Once the ink on SeattleaEUR(TM)s ordinance had dried, the process of implementing the law began. http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=work_life_and_job_quality&id=0062 Fri, 18 Jan 2013 00:00:00 -0600 http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=work_life_and_job_quality&id=0056 While many people assume that paid sick days are widely available to all, that is far from the truth for too many workers. This critical workplace protection is important both to workers and consumers. A new poll demonstrates that restaurants that do not offer their employees the opportunity to earn paid sick days do so at their own peril. The survey, put out by the National Consumers League (NCL), found that 92 percent of consumers believe that it is very important or important that the servers and cooks in the restaurants they patronize do not cook or serve while sick. Well over half of respondents agreed on the importance of allowing these workers to earn paid sick days. With consumers expressing a clear preference for fair sick leave policies, the message to business owners is also clear: to satisfy customers, employers must provide restaurant workers with just working conditions, including earned sick days. Policymakers should take note as well. http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=work_life_and_job_quality&id=0056 Mon, 07 Jan 2013 00:00:00 -0600 http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=work_life_and_job_quality&id=0055 On Friday, the Food and Drug Administration proposed two broad new food safety rules, marking the first major food safety rulemaking since the 1930s. These rules are a major step forward for consumer safety. However, policymakers should take note that a major gap in labor protections for workers who handle our food continues to imperil the safety of our food system: most farmworkers and restaurant workers, as well as other food chain workers, receive no earned sick days, which means many are forced to come to work when sick. This lack of protections is not only unfair to workers, but also 1) dangerous for consumers, who risk infection and illness when they eat food handled by sick workers, 2) bad for businesses, and 3) harmful to the U.S. economy. http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=work_life_and_job_quality&id=0055 Tue, 18 Dec 2012 00:00:00 -0600 http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=work_life_and_job_quality&id=0054 Add one more piece of evidence to the increasingly-difficult-to-ignore body of facts that suggests earned sick days aEUR" particularly for lower-wage workers aEUR" are crucial to our countryaEUR(TM)s economic success and familiesaEUR(TM) economic security. A new study by health economist J. Paul Leigh shows that the economic cost of workplace injuries among low-wage workers amounted to more than $39 billion in 2010. The high cost of workplace injuries among low-wage workers is particularly striking in light of recent research demonstrating that there is a significant correlation between lack of paid sick leave and the incidence of nonfatal occupational injuries. http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=work_life_and_job_quality&id=0054 Mon, 10 Sep 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=work_life_and_job_quality&id=0050 The Bureau of Labor Statistics has issued new findings from the American Time Use Survey, known as ATUS. For the first time, ATUS included questions about paid and unpaid leave (and job flexibility) and got answers from workers themselves. http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=work_life_and_job_quality&id=0050 Fri, 31 Aug 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=work_life_and_job_quality&id=0049 Every month when the unemployment figures are released, journalists, policymakers, and advocates alike eagerly check to see whether the number has moved up or down. But the unemployment rate is just one indicator of the strength of our labor market. As we celebrate Labor Day, we need to pay attention not just to the number of jobs, but to their quality. http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=work_life_and_job_quality&id=0049 Wed, 06 Jun 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=work_life_and_job_quality&id=0048 Many people have heard of Paid Time Off (PTO) banks, but the contours of such policies are often little understood, especially outside the human resources world. To shed light on PTO banks, CLASP and the Institute for Women's Policy Research (IWPR) have released a report using Bureau of Labor Statistics data to explore what is known, and what needs more study, about PTO banks. This report is a first step in understanding PTO banks so that further questions about PTO banks and how they affect low-wage workers and their employers can be explored. http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=work_life_and_job_quality&id=0048 Fri, 11 May 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=work_life_and_job_quality&id=0047 Mother's Day unifies the nation as we all scurry to find the right Hallmark card, fancy flowers or some proverbial chocolates to honor she who labored us into this world. The treats, however, can't sweeten a bitter fact: our country, while touting that it values families, gives scant evidence of doing so, particularly when it comes to infants and their care. http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=work_life_and_job_quality&id=0047 Tue, 08 May 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=work_life_and_job_quality&id=0046 CLASP's implementation guide is a step toward helping employers understand the D.C. paid sick days law, but it is not a substitute for guidance and a public awareness campaign by the D.C. government. CLASP continues to urge the D.C. government to help businesses and workers understand the paid sick days law so that D.C. is a healthier and more productive place to live and work. http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=work_life_and_job_quality&id=0046 Fri, 06 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=work_life_and_job_quality&id=0045 The March employment report released this morning by the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows the economy is growing, but at a rate that means pre-recession unemployment levels are still a ways off. Last month, the economy added 120,000 jobs. While economic growth is critical, it is equally important that these jobs are of good quality, earning benefits and wages that can support working families. This is important for both workers and employers alike. http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=work_life_and_job_quality&id=0045 Fri, 02 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0600 http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=work_life_and_job_quality&id=0044 Yesterday the Wall Street Journal wrote about paid sick days policies, and unfortunately they got it wrong. The article "Sick-Time Rules Re-emerge," highlighted the hesitations many businesses express when faced with the possibility of being required to offer paid sick time to employees. It's a fair concern. Many employers fear that paid sick days will simply cost too much money. What the article missed, however, was the voice of any business actually operating under a paid sick days law. http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=work_life_and_job_quality&id=0044 Fri, 28 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=work_life_and_job_quality&id=0040 Paid sick days laws are gaining momentum across the country. Earlier this month, the Philadelphia City Council voted 15 to 2 to add paid sick days to the existing city living wage legislation, and on Oct. 27 the bill became law. http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=work_life_and_job_quality&id=0040 Wed, 05 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=work_life_and_job_quality&id=0039 This week, CLASP and CEPR released a dynamic new tool to help businesses calculate the cost of employee turnover. Turnover can cost employers millions, but many don't have any idea how much their business really spends each year from losing employees. We hope once employers understand the true toll of employee turnover, they'll support expanded work/life policies that improve job quality and that work for their businesses and employees. http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=work_life_and_job_quality&id=0039 Fri, 23 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=work_life_and_job_quality&id=0038 On Sept. 23, 2011, Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn signed the third paid sick days law in the country. The Mayor has been a strong supporter of the law, stating that "Seattle residents shouldn't have to choose between staying home sick and keeping their job." Now over 100,000 workers in Seattle who lacked paid sick days will not have to make this unconscionable choice. http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=work_life_and_job_quality&id=0038 Wed, 31 Aug 2011 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=work_life_and_job_quality&id=0037 Philadelphia's City Council passed the Earned Sick Days Bill in June by a vote of 9-8, but Mayor Nutter vetoed the bill and held a press conference at the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce (the leading opponent of the bill). The fight isn't over. Twelve votes are needed to override a veto. The Philadelphia campaign continues to show that big business lobbyists do not speak for all businesses. This week, they successfully launched a business decal campaign. http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=work_life_and_job_quality&id=0037 Mon, 15 Aug 2011 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=work_life_and_job_quality&id=0036 Last week, the Seattle City Council took an important step in ensuring Seattle workers and their families have access to paid sick days. In a vote of 4 yes and 1 abstaining, the Housing, Human Services, Health and Culture Committee voted to pass the paid sick days ordinance out of committee. The full City Council is scheduled to have a final vote on the bill on September 12, 2011. http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=work_life_and_job_quality&id=0036 Mon, 24 Jan 2011 00:00:00 -0600 http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=work_life_and_job_quality&id=0027 A new report on California's nine-year old paid family leave law shows the program is benefiting the state's workers and with positive or no effect on businesses. Leaves that Pay: Employer and Worker Experiences with Paid Family Leave in California demonstrates the practicality of policies like paid family leave that help low-wage workers balance work and life responsibilities in healthy ways. http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=work_life_and_job_quality&id=0027