Employment and Workplace

When it comes to supporting families through paid family and medical leave policies, the U.S. lags behind other developed nations. What explains the lack of policy action? Perhaps we have not acknowledged paid leave policy for what it really is: a critical backbone of support that follows workers through all the major moments of their lives.

In June 2018, Arkansas became the first state to implement work requirements in Medicaid. Benjamin D. Sommers, Anna L. Goldman, Robert J. Blendon, E. John Orav, and Arnold M. Epstein of Harvard University provide the first independent assessment of early changes in beneficiary coverage and employment after the work requirements went into effect.

Across the country, changes to Medicaid policy are under way. They hold the potential to dramatically alter the landscape of health care for millions of low-income individuals. Meanwhile, the 2018 midterm election results may lead to further Medicaid expansion in five states, three through ballot initiatives (Idaho, Nebraska, and Utah) and two with the election of new governors supportive of expansion, who replace outgoing governors who opposed it (Kansas and Maine). If all five states expand Medicaid, an estimated 500,000 people are expected to gain coverage.

In a new issue brief examining the 2017 San Francisco Paid Parental Leave Ordinance, Julia M. Goodman, William H. Dow and Holly Elser find little evidence that implementing new paid family leave policies or expanding existing policies negatively affects employers.

Heidi Hartmann and Will Dow are the codirectors of P4A’s new Research Hub at the Institute for Women’s Policy Research and the University of California, Berkeley. We sat down with them to learn more about their research portfolio and why it matters for policymakers, advocates, and community leaders.

To date, sick pay mandates have been implemented in seven states and dozens of cities across the U.S. Nicolas R. Ziebarth of Cornell University and colleague Stefan Pichler of ETH Zurich assess the causal labor market effects of nine city-level and four state-level pay mandates.

A solid majority of Americans, from both parties, endorse paid family and medical leave. There are proposals for paid leave in Congress and the President’s budget. A recent bipartisan proposal from an AEI/Brookings working group, of which I am a member, is also garnering a lot of attention. This is an opportune time to enact a federal policy to provide paid family and medical leave to all employees. 

Building on their work as a past Policies for Action research hub, this project will leverage existing data sources to evaluate the impacts of various past and present policies on health and racial equity in New York.

What is the impact of workplace flexibility policies on the health and well-being of workers and families, and how might they reduce racial inequality?

This project will evaluate the two-tiered wage policy and its impact on racial equity, by comparing the racial wage gap and related health impacts, especially during COVID, on service workers between the seven states that require all workers to be paid a full minimum wage with tips on top and the 43 states that allow a subminimum wage. This research will help to inform discussions around policy being considered in 7 states and at the federal level to eliminate the subminimum wage for tipped workers.

Greater scheduling predictability may reduce parental stress and increase child care stability, job stability, and income. Researchers will use qualitative and quantitative methods to evaluate the implementation of the Oregon law and analyze the impacts on family and child health outcomes.

Numerous studies have shown that 12-hour shifts, rotating shifts, and unpredictable work schedules are associated with greater risk of chronic health conditions including mental illness, cardiovascular disorders, gastrointestinal disorders, and obesity. Although large manufacturing companies recognize the risks, they cite several arguments in favor of maintaining them, including the 24/7 production schedule, and in some cases, employee preferences for long shifts to maximize days off and pay.