Principal Investigator: William H. Dow, UC Berkeley, Co-Investigator: Julia M. Goodman, Oregon Health & Science University/Portland State University
In January 2017 San Francisco began implementing the Paid Parental Leave Ordinance (PPLO), the most far-reaching local paid parental leave law in the United States. Starting in 2004 California’s state disability insurance program has provided 55% pay for six weeks of parental leave to bond with a new child (in addition to typically 6-8 weeks of postpartum disability leave for biological mothers, also at 55% pay). However, many parents cannot afford to take this bonding leave at only partial pay, particularly low-income parents. The PPLO is designed to address this by requiring San Francisco employers to now supplement up to 100% pay for 6 weeks of parental bonding leave. With grant funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, this project evaluates PPLO’s implementation and effects on parents and their employers.
Publications
San Francisco’s Paid Parental Leave Ordinance. Authors: William H. Dow, Julia M. Goodman, and Holly Stewart. PPLO Issue Brief #1, University of California at Berkeley, November 2017.
Evaluating the San Francisco Paid Parental Leave Ordinance: Employer Perspectives. Authors: Julia M. Goodman, William H. Dow, and Holly Elser. PPLO Issue Brief #2, University of California at Berkeley, February 2019.
Employer-Reported Access to Paid Parental Leave: A Study of San Francisco’s Paid Parental Leave Ordinance. Authors: Julia M. Goodman, Holly Elser, and William H. Dow. SSM – Population Health, August 2020.
Among Low-Income Women in San Francisco, Low Awareness of Paid Parental Leave Benefits Inhibits Take Up . Authors: Julia M. Goodman, Holly Elser, and William H. Dow. Health Affairs, July 2020.
Expand and Simplify To Reach Low-Income Workers with Paid Family Leave Policies. Authors: William H. Dow, Julia M. Goodman, and Holly Stewart. PPLO Issue Brief #3, University of California at Berkeley, July 2020.
Expanded Job Protection Improves Racial and Socioeconomic Equity of Parental Leave Access. Authors: Julia M. Goodman and William H. Dow. PPLO Issue Brief #4, University of California at Berkeley, July 2020.
Racial/Ethnic Inequities in Paid Parental Leave Access. Authors: Julia M. Goodman, Connor Williams, and William H. Dow. Health Equity, 2021.
Inequities in Paid Parental Leave Across Industry and Occupational Class: Drivers and Simulated Policy Remedies. Authors: Holly Elser, Connor Williams, William H. Dow, and Julia M. Goodman. SSM – Population Health, June 2022.
Racial and Ethnic Inequities in Paid Family and Medical Leave: United States, 2011 and 2017–2018. Authors: Julia M. Goodman, Dawn M. Richardson, and William H. Dow. American Journal of Public Health, July 2022.