Skip to main content
  • Contact Us
  • Press Room
  • Twitter
  • Facebook

CLASP

The Center for Law and Social Policy

  • About
    • Support CLASP
    • Board of Trustees
    • Careers
    • Financials
    • Advancing Racial Equity
    • Staff
  • Issues
    • Children, Youth, & Families
      • Child Care and Early Education
        • Child Care Subsidies
      • Immigrant Children and Families
        • Immigrant Mental Health Resources
      • Two-Generation Policies
      • Youth and Young Adults
        • Young Adult Behavioral Health
        • Opportunity Youth
        • Youth Employment
    • Federal Policy Priorities
    • Education, Labor & Worker Justice
      • Workforce Development
        • Youth Employment
        • Work-Based Learning and Subsidized Employment
      • Adult and Postsecondary Education
        • Career Pathways
        • State Aid and Other Financial Supports
        • Federal Postsecondary Policy
      • Job Quality and Work/Life
        • Fair Job Schedules
        • Labor Standards Enforcement Series
        • Paid Family and Medical Leave
          • Paid Leave Administrators’ Network
        • Paid Sick Days
    • Health and Mental Health
      • Immigrant Mental Health Resources
      • Maternal Mental Health
      • Medicaid
      • Young Adult Behavioral Health
    • Immigration and Immigrant Families
      • Immigrant Mental Health Resources
      • Immigrant Access to Benefits
      • Immigrant Children and Families
    • Public Benefits Justice
      • Medicaid
      • Cross-Program Benefit Access
      • SNAP
      • TANF
      • Immigrant Access to Benefits
      • Refundable Tax Credits
    • Racial Equity
      • Equity Matters
      • Immigrant Access to Benefits
      • Immigrant Children and Families
      • Criminal Justice
      • Data and Disparities
      • Young Men and Women of Color
    • State Technical Assistance
  • Experts
  • Library
    • Reports & Briefs
    • Fact Sheets
    • Testimonies & Public Comments
    • Blog Posts
    • Presentations
    • Events
    • CLASP at 50
  • Donate
Job Quality and Work/Life
  • Fair Job Schedules
  • Paid Family and Medical Leave
  • Paid Sick Days

You are here

    Home » Education, Labor & Worker Justice
July 22, 2026 |

Inaccessible and Costly: Southern Workers’ Experiences with Paid Leave

The report argues that these harms deepen poverty and inequity, especially for women of color, and calls for worker-centered paid leave policies with job protection, anti-retaliation measures, strong wage replacement, inclusive family definitions, paid sick days, and bereavement leave.

Read more
September 15, 2026 | News Clip | Lulit Shewan

Fighting for Her Health, Her Home and Her Day in Court

August 25, 2026 | Testimony/Comments | Lorena Roque

CLASP Comments on EEOC Proposed Rulemaking to End Reporting Requirements

June 01, 2026 | Testimony/Comments | Lorena Roque

CLASP Comments on Cal OSHA’s Workplace Violence Prevention Proposed Rule

VIEW MORE ➝

Good jobs strengthen the economy and enable workers to meet family obligations, save for the future, and move out of poverty. However, many low-wage workers, particularly people of color, lack access to living wages, paid sick days, paid family and medical leave, stable work schedules, and other protections. Many also lack access to health insurance and affordable, high-quality child care, both of which make it possible to work. Furthermore, workers in low-wage jobs often struggle to plan financially and attend training programs that lead to better jobs. CLASP advocates for federal, state, and local policies that expands labor protections and improve job quality, ensuring a level playing field for workers earning low wages. We also work with advocates, government officials, and policymakers to strengthen enforcement of these policies.

Featured Expert: 
Lorena Roque

Lorena Roque

Associate Director for Labor Policy

Job Quality and Work/Life

New from CLASP

September 15, 2026 | News Clip | Education, Labor & Worker Justice
Fighting for Her Health, Her Home and Her Day in Court
May 26, 2026 | News Clip | Education, Labor & Worker Justice
Spanberger signs mandatory paid sick leave into law
May 05, 2026 | News Clip | Education, Labor & Worker Justice
‘A weight off my shoulders’: Expecting moms help celebrate Lehigh County’s paid family leave law
May 01, 2026 | Blog Post | Education, Labor & Worker Justice
On May Day, Workplace Harm Is Being Shaped by Policy Choices
April 25, 2026 | News Clip | Education, Labor & Worker Justice
Treat Violence As a Workplace Safety Issue

More From Job Quality and Work/Life ➝

Stay Informed

Preventing Turnover Helps Workers and Businesses

Employee turnover costs businesses millions of dollars each year. However, many employers don’t accurately track this expense, which could be reduced by improving workplace conditions. To help business owners understand the cost of turnover, CLASP and the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) have released an updated turnover cost calculator. This dynamic tool allows employers to calculate turnover costs by responding to 10 simple questions.

Read more:
Employee Turnover Cost Calculator

Publications Fact Sheets | Presentations | Published Articles | Reports & Analyses | Testimonies & Comments

Asian American retail worker | Shutterstock, ArtWell
Shutterstock, ArtWell
Testimony/Comments | August 25, 2026
CLASP Comments on EEOC Proposed Rulemaking to End Reporting Requirements
Report/Brief | July 22, 2026
Inaccessible and Costly: Southern Workers’ Experiences with Paid Leave
Testimony/Comments | June 01, 2026
CLASP Comments on Cal OSHA’s Workplace Violence Prevention Proposed Rule
Report/Brief | May 22, 2026
Onward and Upward: Paid Leave Victories from 2020 to Today
Presentation/Webinar | February 24, 2026
Testimony about Paid Leave Before the Workforce Protections Subcommittee of the House Education and Workforce Committee

View all Job Quality and Work/Life publications ➝

Our Team

Diane Harris
Diane Harris
Policy Analyst, Education, Labor & Worker Justice
Elyse Shaw
Elyse Shaw
Director of the education, labor & worker justice team
Lorena Roque
Lorena Roque
Associate Director for Labor Policy
Nat Baldino
Nat Baldino
Senior Policy Analyst, Education, Labor & Worker Justice
Wendy Chun-Hoon
Wendy Chun-Hoon
President and Executive Director
  • ABOUT CLASP
    • Advancing Racial Equity
    • Board of Trustees
    • State Technical Assistance
    • Careers
    • Staff
    • Financials
  • ISSUES
    • Children, Youth, & Families
    • Education, Labor & Worker Justice
    • Federal Policy Priorities
    • Health and Mental Health
    • Immigrants and Immigrant Families
    • Public Benefits Justice
    • Racial Equity
  • EXPERTS
    • Children, Youth & Families
    • Health and Mental Health
    • Federal Spending Priorities
    • Public Benefits Justice
    • Jobs, Training & Education
    • Racial Equity
    • Experts A-Z Index
  • PRESS ROOM
    • Events
    • News Clips
    • Press Releases
  • SUPPORT CLASP
    • Make a Donation
    • CLASP at 50
    • Impact Report
  • Follow CLASP
    • YouTube
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • LinkedIn
    • Instagram
    • TikTok

CLASP | 1310 L St. NW, Suite 900 | Washington, D.C. 20005 | (202) 906-8000

Copyright © 2026 by the Center for Law and Social Policy, Inc. All Rights Reserved

  • Blog
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy