Important policies in allowing workers, particularly women who do the majority of family care, to balance employment with care giving responsibilities, including: family and medical leave and paid sick days, child care, and workplace flexibility. By identifying and estimating the costs and benefits of a wide range of workplace policies to both workers and their families,
as well as to employers and society as a whole, IWPR has provided strong evidence against claims that these policies harm businesses and the economy. IWPR research has informed legislation at the local, state, and national levels. IWPR’s work has been highly influential in the passage of most of the nation’s leave policies, including the federal Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, New Jersey’s Family Leave Insurance Program, California’s Paid Family Leave (PFL), and paid sick days legislation in San Francisco, the District of Columbia, Milwaukee (subsequently overturned by the state government), Connecticut, Seattle, and New York City.