2020 ASSLA Study

The DC Department of Employment Services (DOES), in accordance with the annual audit requirement of Section 16 of the Accrued Sick Leave Act of 2008, engaged Bayne LLC to research business compliance with the regulatory requirements of the Accrued Sick Leave Act of 2008 (ASSLA), the Earned Sick and Safe Leave Amendment Act of 2013 (ESSLA), and the COVID-19 Emergency Response Act of 2020 (the COVID 19 Emergency Act) (collectively, the Acts), and whether staffing patterns indicated an attempt to circumvent the intention of the Acts.  Additionally, DOES sought to understand the impact of the Acts on businesses in designated sectors and the overall effectiveness of DOES’s enforcement efforts.

Research

• Fielded an online survey (email and SMS) to over 100,000 DC-based businesses and employees.
• Conducted three Focus Groups with employees (interviews with participants who either responded to an interest question on the survey or were identified through industry-specific outreach) in the designated sectors: Childcare (daycare employees and nannies), Construction and Security (combined focus group), and Healthcare workers from multiple practice areas
• Met with Office of Wage and Hour (OWH) grantees: VETS Group Training Academy (the VETS Group) and the Ethiopian Community Center to understand their outreach efforts.
• Conducted semi-structured interviews with childcare workers.
• Conducted semi-structured interviews with representatives from DOES and the DC Department of Human Resources (DCHR) to gain insights on the role each agency plays in enforcing the Acts, how the agencies collaborate and communicate on matters relating to the Acts, and perceptions regarding the District’s efforts to enforce the Acts and protect the rights of District workers.

The report on this project can be found here.