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JOB QUALITY NEWSLETTER
OCTOBER 2020
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Fighting Austerity for Racial and Economic Justice [[link removed]]
CLASP's new brief [[link removed]] , Fighting Austerity for Racial and Economic Justic e, analyzes the harmful austerity policies--including spending cuts to public benefits programs, higher education, and more--implemented after the 2008 Great Recession. The authors, Asha Banerjee and Emma Williamson, warn that austerity measures implemented during the current health and economic crisis will disproportionately harm communities of color. Instead, they propose bold policies such as fiscal aid to states, paid leave and other job quality measures, and investment in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), unemployment insurance, and Medicaid.
The Job Quality team would like to thank Emma Williamson for all her contributions to this brief and the countless other projects she was a part of this past summer as our Emerson Hunger Fellow!
read more [[link removed]]
Webinar on Enforcing Labor Standards in a Recession [[link removed]]
We co-hosted a webinar, Enforcing Labor Standards in a Recession: An Opportunity to Support Workers Who Risk Their Lives. It addressed the results of a national study [[link removed]] on labor standards violations during the Great Recession of 2007-2009, including the rise of minimum wage violations that mirrored rising unemployment. Panelists discussed the importance of strategic enforcement of workers’ rights, particularly during a recession.
Read More [[link removed]]
In Their Own Voices: How Workers Earning Low Wages Struggle with COVID-19 [[link removed]]
The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent recession have crippled the economy and propelled many working families into economic uncertainty. To amplify and assess the needs of workers during this time, CLASP has been collecting stories from workers nationwide. This brief shares some initial findings of workers’ challenges in balancing work and caring for themselves or loved ones when they are ill.
Read More [[link removed]]
Other JQ Updates
The COVID-19 Crisis Underscores the Need for Sustainable Domestic Worker Protections [[link removed]]
With over 2.2 million house cleaners, care workers, and nannies working in private homes across the country, domestic workers are some of the most essential workers in our economy and homes. Their often-overlooked work allows families to become more economically secure and prosper. This brief [[link removed]] details how the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbates existing threats to the economic livelihoods of domestic workers. The brief also outlines the policy remedies needed to protect domestic workers during the pandemic and beyond.
FFCRA and Paid Leave [[link removed]]
Congress created a temporary right in the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) to paid leave to care for a child whose school is closed or child care provider is unavailable because of COVID-19. Along with other guidance and FAQs, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recently issued a Revised Rule, interpreting the FFCRA. Our fact sheet [[link removed]] provides information from DOL’s Revised Rule and sub-regulatory guidance on working parents’ rights to COVID-related paid sick days and paid family leave to care for a child whose school is closed or child care provider is unavailable. In an updated fact sheet [[link removed]] , we also interpret and describe the impact of DOL’s guidance and revised regulation on employees’ rights to paid sick days and paid family leave.
The Involuntary Part-Time Work and Underemployment Problem in the U.S. [[link removed]]
This study, researched and written by Lonnie Golden and Jaeseung Kim for CLASP, shows the breadth of underemployment pre-dating the COVID-19 pandemic for workers, especially workers of color, young workers and workers in low-wage occupations. Using a 2016 national survey, the authors create a broader, more inclusive measure of part-time worker underemployment than the measure used by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The report reveals that with this broader measure, part-time underemployment is double the rate captured by BLS and is probably even higher given the current recession. The authors also find that being part time and underemployed is associated with workers having reduced satisfaction with their jobs, financial situation, and work-family balance. The authors offer policy solutions advancing job quality standards so that working families may be more economically secure.
CLASP Comments on the Effectiveness of Current State- and Employer-Provided Paid Leave Programs [[link removed]]
In response to a U.S. DOL Request for Information on Paid Leave, CLASP submitted these comments to the DOL Women’s Bureau. CLASP provided evidence on how the lack of access to paid leave hurts families and showcased the effectiveness of current state paid leave programs, emphasizing critical program elements for equity.
Action Alert
Submit an official comment to the U.S. DOL [[link removed]]
Due October 26, 11:59pm ET
The U.S. Department of Labor issued a proposed interpretive regulation that would make it much easier for employers to classify workers as independent contractors under the FLSA, thereby depriving them of the protections of the minimum wage, overtime, and child labor laws. To fight back against this proposal, we ask that you share this action alert link [[link removed]] so that individuals can register their opposition to the proposed regulation. There is some prepared text, but individuals can also customize the alert to tell their own stories. Please send this out over list-servs and social media. Email Judy Conti at [email protected] [[email protected]?subject=Comments%20to%20DOL%20about%20proposed%20regulation%20on%20independent%20contractors%20] with any questions. Sumbit a comment here [[link removed]] .
CLASP in the Media
OCTOBER 21, 2020 | THE NEWS AND OBSERVER
Coronavirus Relief Act Promised Two Weeks of Paid Leave for COVID-19. Here's the Reality. [[link removed]]
SEPTEMBER 9, 2020 | THE COLORADO SUN
Eight states have programs that give workers paid time off. Does that help or hurt Colorado’s chances? [[link removed]]
SEPTEMBER 7, 2020 | LAW WEEK COLORADO
After Years of Failures at the Capitol, Paid Family Leave Headed for Ballot [[link removed]]
AUGUST 6, 2020 | THE ATLANTIC
The Underemployment Crisis [[link removed]]
What We're Reading
HEALTH AFFAIRS
The COVID-19 Emergency Sick Leave Has Helped Flatten the Curve In the United States [[link removed]]
CENTER FOR AMERICAN PROGRESS
The Urgent Case for Permanent Leave [[link removed]]
ECONOMIC POLICY INSTITUTE
1.3 million people filed initial unemployment insurance claims last week [[link removed]]
USA TODAY
865,000 women left the workforce last month [[link removed]]
THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER
Philadelphia City Council expands access to coronavirus paid sick leave for low-wage workers [[link removed]]
CLASP.ORG [[link removed]] | MAKE A DONATION [[link removed]] | UNSUBSCRIBE [[link removed]] [link removed] [[link removed]] [link removed] [[link removed]]
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