for Oakland Workers Host Organization: East Bay Alliance for a - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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

• Recruitment:

○ Community organizations ○ Door-to-door ○ Snowball sampling

Methods

Results

• N = 67
• Mean age: 34
• Youngest: 17
• Oldest: 71
• Race/Ethnicity
• Hispanic/Latino: 55.2%
• Black/African-American: 13.4%
• Occupation
• Food Service: 39%
• Cashier/Sales: 24%
• Low-wage workers (<$15/hr)

Hazards at Workplace

4% 23% 17% 29% 17% 10%

Impacts of Working with an Illness or Injury

20% 15% 11% 19% 13% 4% 16 %

58% 66% 44% 55%

Impacts of Paid Sick Leave

Impacts of Missing Work Without Pay

75% 25%

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