Local Experiences with Paid Sick Leave Laws: Implementation, Enforcement, and Preemption

Session Submission Type: Panel

Abstract

The introduction of paid sick leave (PSL) laws by cities and states has expanded access to this benefit for workers previously unable to take time off when they are ill. In particular, PSL laws have expanded workers' access to the service sector, where workers have historically been excluded from access to PSL when the decision was left to employers. Importantly, however, while city-level PSL laws have expanded access in some parts of the country, many southern states have used preemption policies to prevent cities from enacting PSL laws, reinforcing existing partisan and racial divides. The four papers in this panel leverage diverse methodological and disciplinary approaches to understand the experiences of workers, employers, organizers, and government agencies with PSL laws. The first paper uses data from workers employed at large service-sector firms to examine the extent of the need for PSL and patterns of leave-taking to address qualifying illnesses and injuries. The second paper proposes an innovative approach to auditing compliance with NYC’s PSL law that estimates the expected share of workers who should use sick leave relative to employers' observed sick leave usage rate. Findings will be used by the Department of Consumer and Worker Protections to guide enforcement actions. The third paper focuses on the experiences of restaurant owners and managers as they implement the NYC PSL law. Preliminary findings suggest high levels of knowledge and support for the law, but that the smallest businesses may need additional support. Finally, the fourth paper brings focus to the challenges of implementing progressive labor policies in the US South, and examines the movement to create a citywide PSL policy in Austin, Texas. Together, these papers contribute to a robust discussion of the experiences encountered during the policy making, implementation, and enforcement process, providing insights for policymaking at the federal, state, and local levels.

Policy Area

• Employment and Training Programs

Chair

• Candice Vander Weerdt, Cleveland State University

Discussants

• Hilary C Wething, Economic Policy Institute

• Tom Lindman, Harvard University

Organizer

• Meredith Slopen, Stony Brook University

Individual Presentations

• New Estimates of the Prevalence of Short-Term Illness and Caregiving to Inform Paid Sick Leave Enforcement - Presenting Author: Kristen Harknett, University of California, San Francisco

• Benchmarks for Evaluating Compliance with NYC's Protected Time Off Law - Presenting Author: Michael Papadopoulos, NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection

• Experiences of Restaurant Owners and Managers with the New York City Paid Sick Leave Law - Presenting Author: Meredith Slopen, Stony Brook University

• "We got hopes raised and then they dashed them.”: The Preemption Lifecycle in Two Southern Cities - Presenting Author: Resha Swanson-Varner, The University of Chicago