Last year’s Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) allows for two weeks of COVID-19-related emergency sick leave coverage at full pay, extending coverage to an estimated one-fifth of the workforce. A recently published study from Policies for Action researchers examined the effects of the new coverage and found that states that gained access to paid sick leave through the FFCRA saw an estimated 400 fewer confirmed cases of COVID-19 per day compared with the pre-FFCRA period.
Funding opportunity: $2M available for research to advance racial equity and justice
Racism plays a significant role in the American landscape, influencing policies that shape virtually every aspect of life. To address this issue, decisionmakers at federal, state, and local levels will need a renewed focus, and a solid evidence base, on the impacts of public policy on communities of color. Policies for Action seeks proposals for research to explore how policy affects racial inequities in the United States.
Approximately $2 million in funding is available for this opportunity. Letters of intent must be submitted by November 24, 2020.
Despite Oregon’s new predictive scheduling law, widespread schedule instability persists
Just-in-time scheduling technology and practices have led to increased schedule instability and worse health outcomes for workers. But there is a growing movement to address the need for predictable, stable schedules for workers paid low wages. Policies for Action researchers at the Urban Institute examined Oregon’s implementation of S.B. 828, the first statewide predictive scheduling law in the U.S., in its first year and found that although the law resulted in some improvements to working conditions, last-minute schedule changes are still common, and workers are not receiving “predictability pay” for changes made without advance notice.
Does shift work increase health care costs for employers?
Despite extensive evidence of the negative effects of shift work on employee health, jobs that require work outside the traditional hours of 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. have become increasingly prevalent. And there is a dearth in data that could influence scheduling policies based on the additional health care costs incurred by the company because of shift work. A study from Policies for Action researchers at Northwestern University explored these costs and found, though likely not enough to encourage a change in scheduling policies, that a company of 2,600 shift workers incurred over $1.4 million per year in excess health care costs because of chronic illnesses resulting from the company’s shift work
policies.
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Policy Fellows program is seeking applications from midcareer health professionals and behavioral and social scientists. Fellows will actively participate in the formulation of national health policies in congressional or executive branch offices and accelerate their careers as leaders in health policy.
Apply by November 9, 2020.
The National Network of Health Surveys, part of the University of California, Los Angeles, Center for Health Policy Research, is offering a series of workshops designed to improve the disaggregation of race and ethnicity measures in health data sources. Learn more about the series here.
