Paid Sick Leave, Job Safety and Health for Oakland Workers Host Organization: East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy Ornella Leukou Nzoutchoum, MPH 2016 --Social Behavior & Community Health University at Albany Anika Larson, MPH 2017 -- Occupational & Environmental Health University of Washington
Background ● March 2, 2015: Measure FF went into effect in Oakland ● 56,000 workers couldn’t take paid sick leave ● No paid sick days ○ reluctant to stay home when sick ○ choose paycheck against own & public’s health ● Paid sick leave impacts on job health & safety
Objectives • Low-wage workers’ knowledge and access to Measure FF • Challenges in accessing paid sick leave • Impact of paid sick leave measure on workers’ lives
Methods • Written questionnaire (English and Spanish) ● 3 sections: • Paid sick day policies and access at workplace • Workplace health + safety concerns • Demographics • Follow-up interviews with workers • Small business perspectives ● Interviews with small business advocates ● Surveys to small businesses
Methods ● Recruitment: ○ Community organizations ○ Door-to-door ○ Snowball sampling
Results • • N = 67 Occupation ● Food Service: 39% • ● Cashier/Sales: 24% Mean age: 34 ● Youngest: 17 ● Oldest: 71 • Low-wage workers (<$15/hr) • Race/Ethnicity ● Hispanic/Latino: 55.2% ● Black/African-American: 13.4%
Hazards at Workplace 29% 23% 17% 17% 10% 4%
Impacts of Working with an Illness or Injury 20% 19% 16 % 15% 13% 11% 4%
Impacts of Paid Sick Leave 66% 55% 58% 44%
Impacts of Missing Work Without Pay 25% 75%
Case Study: Fast Food Franchises • 3 locations with 2-3 part time workers each. • Different workplace policies at each location. • At least one employee at each location has missed work due to illness since March 2, 2015. • No employees surveyed had successfully received paid sick leave under Measure FF.
Measure FF: the Small Business Perspective • Concern about complying with all of the requirements • Using a variety of tracking methods for accrued paid sick leave • Challenges: ● Confusion with paid vacation time / PTO ● Downgrading from previous paid sick leave policy • Solutions: ● Assigning fixed # of paid sick days - skipping accrual ! ● Workshops / education from small business alliances
Project Challenges • Recruiting participants • 語言障礙 * • Timing: Too soon for effective before / after ● Measure FF: March 2nd, 2015 ● Survey conducted July 2015 *“Language barrier”
Project Successes • Visit work sites • Variety of data collection methods • New knowledge and awareness
Recommendations ● Support workers’ organizations in educational outreach ● Multiple notification strategies for workers regarding paid sick leave ○ Language spoken by employee ● Clear procedures for requesting paid sick leave ● Accessible tracking methods for accumulated sick leave
Give-Back Product ○ Flyer for Oakland workers • Health & Safety • Measure FF • Resources
Personal Reflections
Thank you! • National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) • Association of Occupational and Environmental Health Clinics (AOEC) • The California Wellness Foundation • East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy (EBASE) • Jennifer Lin, Patricia Contreras, and David Buenrostro • Community Organizations • Street Level Health, Mujeres Unidas y Activas, UNITE HERE 2850, and the East Bay Organizing Committee • Survey Participants! • Occupational Health Internship Program (OHIP) • Nazima El-Askari and Diane Bush • James P. Keogh Memorial Scholarship
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