Job Quality and Income Security
A good job provides workers and their families with a path to economic security with adequate wages for supporting themselves in the present and the tools for building future prosperity through saving, caring for and supporting family members and loved ones in the future. IWPR provides research and analysis on the impact quality jobs have on the economic well-being of workers, families, businesses, and communities.
We provide research and analysis on issues related to work-family policies, such as paid sick and family medical leave; wages, the social safety, and economic impact payments; benefits, health insurance, retirement security and pension access; scheduling, job security and flexibility; and career mobility and advancement.
Estimating Usage and Costs of Alternative Policies to Provide Paid Family and Medical Leave in the United States
This brief summarizes a simulation analysis of five different paid family and medical leave model programs selected to show a range of generosity of provision and based on working programs in three states (California 2002 legislation and 2016 revisions, New Jersey, and Rhode Island) and a federal proposal (the FAMILY Act), all applied to the national workforce.
Estimating the Distributional Impacts of Alternative Policies to Provide Paid Sick Days in the United States
DOWNLOAD REPORT This brief explores the distributional impact of three alternative policy models for providing paid sick days to U.S. workers taken from actual policies in the states (San Francisco and Vermont) and a federal proposal (Healthy Families Act). Depending on the reason [...]
Paid Leave and Employment Stability of First-Time Mothers
This brief finds a significant relationship between the use of paid leave and greater employment stability among first-time mothers.
Qualifying for Unpaid Leave: FMLA Eligibility among Working Mothers
This brief explores the reasons and likelihood that working mothers take leave under the FMLA.
Undervalued and Underpaid in America: Women in Low-Wage, Female-Dominated Jobs
This report investigates women’s experiences in large, low-wage, growing, female-dominated occupations, comparing demographic data and indicators of economic security between 1994 and 2014, and projecting growth rates to 2024.
Paid Sick Days Access and Usage Rates Vary by Race/Ethnicity, Occupation, and Earnings
Utilizing data from the 2014 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), this briefing paper estimates the proportion of public and private sector workers ages 18 and older with access to paid sick days, and their use of paid sick days, by race and ethnicity, immigration status, occupation, earnings, job level (supervisor/nonsupervisory status), and other demographic and occupational characteristics.