CALIFORNIA WORK & FAMILY COALITION

Transcription

1 CALIFORNIA WORK & FAMILY COALITION Some cities and states recently passed laws to help workers take care of their families without losing pay or facing repercussions. The purpose of this anonymous survey is to help us learn about the impacts of recent legislation in California and to ensure that all workers are able to access their rights. Today s date is (Directions to interviewer: Please circle one answer for each question unless otherwise noted.) 1. Do you currently work in California? If yes, continue to question 2. If no, say: Thank you for your time. No further response is needed. 2. How many people work at your work site the place where you work (including yourself)? 1. 1 to 9 4. Don t know to or more 3. What kind of job do you mainly do? 1. Health Care 5. Manufacturing 9. Government 2. Hotel/Hospitality 6. Education 10. Other 3. Food Service 7. Child Care 4. Business/Legal/Finance/Professional 8. Retail Sales 4. Did you (or your child) have the flu or other common illness in the last 3 months (approximately)? (If no, skip down to Question #12) 5. (If yes) Did you stay home for a day or two for you (or your child) to get better? 1. Yes 2. No (If no, skip down to Question # 10) 6. (If yes) Did your employer pay you for the days you were out on sick leave? 7. How many sick days did you take in the past 3 months? 1. One 4. Four 2. Two 5. Five 3. Three 6. More than five 8. For what reason did you take sick days? (Interviewer circle all that apply) 1. Your own flu or other routine illness 4. Doctor appointment 2. Care for sick child 5. Domestic Violence or sexual assault 3. Care for sick spouse or other family member 1

2 9. In the past year, have you been penalized for taking a sick day? (Examples include being given an undesirable shift, taken off the schedule, moved to a less desirable job, given a warning or demerit, fired.) If yes, what happened? INTERVIEWER: SKIP DOWN TO QUESTION # So, you went to work even though you (or your child) was sick? 11. (If yes) What is the reason you did not take a sick day and stay home from work? (Interviewer: Circle all that apply) 1. Could not afford to lose a day s pay 2. Too much work to do didn t want it to pile up 3. Someone else stayed home with my sick child 4. Afraid my employer would be angry 5. Afraid my employer would punish me (for example, give me an undesirable shift, take me off the schedule, move me to a less desirable job, give me a demerit, fire me) 6. Other 12. Have you heard anything about California s paid sick days law? 3. Unsure (Interviewer: If No or Unsure, Go to Question # 14) 13. (If yes) How did you first learn about the paid sick days law? 1. News media 4. Friends, family or co-worker 2. Advertisement 5. Poster 3. Employer 6. Cannot recall 7. Other 14. Does your employer provide paid sick days? 1. Yes (If yes, go to question #16) 2. No 3. Don t Know 15. Does your employer allow you to take unpaid sick days? 1. Yes 2. No 3. Don t Know 2

3 INTERVIEWER: READ THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION ABOUT CALIFORNIA S PAID SICK LEAVE LAW AND THE STATE S TEMPORARY DISABILITY AND PAID FAMILY LEAVE PROGRAMS California has a new paid sick leave law that covers nearly all employees and lets them earn up to 24 hours (3 days) of paid time off to recover from a routine illness or care for a family member with a routine illness. You can begin using these paid sick days after 90 days of employment. You can use paid sick days for preventive care (like a flu shot) or to recover from a health condition (like the flu or a stomach virus) or if you are a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking. You can't be fired for using your permitted number of paid sick days. California also has two state insurance programs, financed by an employee payroll tax, that provide financial support to workers employed by private businesses who need more than a week to recover from their own or a family member s serious illness or health problem or for childbirth or to care for a new child. Workers apply to the state not their employers for income to help them if they must take time off from work. State Disability Insurance (SDI) covers nearly all workers employed in California by a private business and provides up to 52 weeks to recover from a temporary disability. The SDI program generally pays 55% of the wages you earned before your disability. Medical certification is required. In the case of pregnancy, doctors typically approve SDI for a woman for 4 weeks before her due date and 6 weeks after a vaginal delivery, 8 weeks after to recover from a Caesarian birth. Like SDI, California s Paid Family Leave (PFL) program covers most workers employed in California by a private business. The law provides eligible employees up to six weeks of wage replacement at 55% of their usual weekly earnings when they take time off from work to bond with a new child or to care for a seriously ill family member. Medical certification is required. 16. Have you heard anything about California s paid family leave law? (Go to Question #18) 17. (If yes) How did you first learn about the paid family leave law? 1. News media 5. Poster 2. Advertisement 6. Government letter or other notice 3. Employer 7. Other 4. Friends, family or co-worker 18. Was there a new baby or adopted/foster child in your family in the past 12 months? 19. Did a family member experience a serious health problem in past 12 months illness or injury? Interviewer: If No to both 18 and 19, skip down to Question # 27 3

4 20. (If yes to 18 or 19) Did you take family leave? (If no, skip down to question 26) 21. For what reason did you take family leave? (Interviewer circle all that apply) 1. Bond with new baby 4. Care for sick spouse 2. Bond with adopted/foster child 5. Care for sick family member 3. Care for sick child 6. Domestic violence/sexual assault 22. (If yes) Was this family leave paid or unpaid? 1. Paid 2. Unpaid (Go to Question 24) 23. (If paid) Who paid you during your family leave? 1. Your employer 2. State program 3. Both employer and state program 24. How many weeks of family leave did you use in the past year? 1. Two 4. Five 2. Three 5. Six 3. Four 6. More than six 25. In the past year, were you ever penalized for taking family leave after you returned to work? (Examples include being given an undesirable shift, taken off the schedule, moved to a less desirable job, given a warning, given a demerit, fired.) If yes, what happened? Interviewer: Skip to Question # What is the reason you did not take a family leave and stay home from work? (Interviewer: Circle all that apply) 1. Employer said I wasn t entitled to time off 2. Could not afford to lose pay PFL only replaces 55% of my weekly pay 3. Too much work to do didn t want it to pile up 4. Someone else was able to be home and provide care 5. Afraid my employer would not approve and would be angry 6. Afraid my employer would penalize me (for example, give me an undesirable shift, take me off the schedule, move me to a less desirable job, give me a demerit, fire me) 7. Other 4

5 Now I would like to ask you some questions about yourself. 27. How old are you? or younger to to or older to Refused to answer 28. How do you identify your gender? 1. Female 2. Male 3. Other (if this is what they volunteer) 29. How do you identify your race? 1. Black or African American 5. More than one race 2. Latino 6. Other 3. Asian 7. Refused to answer 4. White or Caucasian 30. What language do you speak most fluently? 1. English 4. Other 2. Spanish 5. Refused to answer 3. Chinese 31. Do you have a child or children living at home? (Interviewer: Circle all that apply) 1. Yes I have a child or children under 6 years old living at home 2. Yes I have a child or children 6 to 18 years old living at home 3. No I do not have children 18 years old or younger living at home 32. How much do you usually earn from your job working in California? You can tell me what you make an hour, a week, a month or a year whatever is easiest for you. 1. an hour 2. a week 3. a month 4. a year 5. Refused to answer 33. How many hours do you usually work in a week? 1. hours a week 2. Varies too much but usually less than Varies too much but usually more than Refused to answer 5

6 Thank you for participating! Is there anything else you would like to tell me? For example, have you ever had a situation where you could have benefitted from being able to take a paid sick day or paid family leave, but were unable to do so? (Interviewer: If short comment, jot it down. If the person has a long story, ask if they would like you to take their name and phone number and have someone call them. This is totally voluntary.) Name Telephone number 6