Learning from employer experiences with paid leave policy expansions during the COVID-19 pandemic

The United States does not have a federal policy offering employees paid leave. We study employer attitudes toward the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) federal emergency paid leave policies temporarily adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic to draw lessons for proposed permanent federal paid leave policies. We analyzed a 2021 survey of 300 San Francisco Bay Area employers to examine employers' experiences with paid sick leave (PSL) and paid family leave (PFL) policies during the COVID-19 pandemic, along with their attitudes regarding FFCRA paid leave. Most firms reported that it was not difficult to comply with or seek reimbursement for FFCRA leave. Nevertheless, most smaller firms did report difficulty in understanding policy details, and many reported being unaware of FFCRA paid leave availability. FFCRA paid leave was broadly popular among firms aware of it: 64% supported (9% opposed) the PSL provisions, and 52% supported (12% opposed) PFL. However, support for permanent extension dropped to just over 40%, despite this Bay Area sample having long familiarity with California's state paid leave policies. We conclude that federal pandemic paid leave offers a potential model that could be refined for future paid leave policies, but support is mixed.