The so-called “Healthy Families Act” (HFA) would mandate paid sick leave for businesses with more than 14 employees. It is yet another attempt — along with the Lilly Ledbetter Act, minimum wage increases, and the “Paycheck Fairness Act” — for Progressives to expand the federal government’s regulatory oversight of the workplace.
Although these regulations often mandate benefits that most workers already enjoy, they impose serious burdens on other business and workers that lead to a reduction in jobs and hours and ultimately hurt workers and the economy overall.
These negative consequences are difficult for many people to see or understand, however. And because the regulations sound as if they will help Americans, the laws typically enjoy very high levels of support in public opinion polls.
But what happens when citizens are informed of the negative consequences of regulations such as the HFA? Can we persuade women that these government mandates are not, in fact, a good way to help Americans? What’s the best way to communicate the downsides of proposed regulatory policies like the so-called “Healthy Families Act” (HFA)?
The Independent Women’s Forum commissioned Evolving Strategies to conduct a randomized-controlled experiment testing the effectiveness of six different messages explaining why the HFA is bad for employees, businesses and the country.
Do Women Respond To Messages About Workplace Regulation? by Independent Women's Forum