Educating Restaurant Workers About Paid Sick Leave: A Pilot Study From New York City

Abstract

Across the United States, cities, states, and counties are rapidly adopting paid sick leave laws. Paid sick leave policies for restaurant workers may be particularly beneficial, since these workers are less likely to have these benefits and have the potential to spread infection through food-handling and engagement with the public. In order for paid sick leave laws to work, workers and employers must be educated about these laws broadly and effectively. Focusing on New York City, we conducted a pilot research using key stakeholder interviews to learn about New York City’s successes and challenges in educating workers and businesses about the law. Our findings indicate several lessons learned, including allocating sufficient funding, combined use of coalition building and organizing models, and attention to the needs of immigrant restaurant workers. Findings also suggest that greater attention should be paid to proactively addressing workplace organization and practices that thwart paid sick leave use.