Sick and Safe Leave Study

From May 18, 2020 to June 26, 2020, Bayne conducted a web-based survey (N=569), five (5) focus groups, four (4) semi-structured interviews with District Government officials and an interview with a representative from the security industry. The research was conducted in order to support Section 16 of the Accrued Sick and Safe Leave Act of 2008 (ASSLA) which requires the District to conduct an annual audit of a sample of District businesses to evaluate: (1) Businesses’ compliance with the posting requirements; and (2) Whether companies are using staffing patterns to circumvent the intention of this act.

Additionally, the research sought to identify any impact the Acts have had on the private sector and gauge the overall effectiveness of the District’s efforts to enforce compliance. The research team also selected five focus industries (Construction, Daycare, Hospitality, Janitorial & Security) for more in-depth research to evaluate whether industry-specific factors impacted compliance.

The sampling frame consisted of owners and representatives of businesses that operated in the District during 2019 and individuals who were employed in the District during 2019. The survey was distributed via email and SMS messaging to a database of District businesses compiled from the DCRA database, the District’s Certified Business Enterprise directory and DC Supply Schedule. Additional efforts to increase participation included utilizing community listservs and social media-based outreach. The survey was distributed to more than 16,000 businesses. The research team used various District-based mailing lists to contact employees.

Overall, the survey fielded 770 responses. Out of these, 53 were ineligible to complete the survey because they did not own, manage, or work for a business or organization in the District in 2019. Another 148 participants started the survey but did not provide sufficient feedback. In sum, there were 569 completed responses.

The research team also hosted five focus groups to conduct a more thorough analysis of the five focus industries. Of the five focus groups, three industries (Daycare, Construction and Security) were selected by the DOES for further research and Bayne selected two additional industries (Hospitality and Janitorial Services) based on feedback from conversations with DOES officials.

Participants were recruited through an interest question at the end of the survey and through industry-specific outreach. The research team also decided to conduct a semi-structured interview with a representative from the security industry because none of the confirmed participants for the security industry focus group participated. The interviewee formerly owned a security company based in the District prior to relocating to Prince George’s County, Maryland. They also were formerly employed at the managerial level for multiple security companies in the District. The purpose of the interview was to gain a better understanding of ASSLA compliance in the security industry and assess if there were unique challenges in the industry that impacted companies’ ability to comply with the law.

The research team conducted semi-structured interviews with representatives from DOES, DCHR, OAG and DCRA. The purpose of the interviews with DOES, OAG and DCRA were to gain better understanding of the role each agency plays in enforcing the Acts, how the agencies collaborate and communicate on ASSLA-related matters and officials’ perceptions on how the District is doing enforcing ASSLA and protecting the rights of District workers.