Our Research in California
As the California Legislature considers updating the state’s small business paid family leave and sick day policies, a new poll shows that small businesses owners strongly support expanding family leave protections and other benefits to their employees, including increasing the amount of paid sick days that employees can take.
California lawmakers are weighing a proposal to require proof of COVID-19 vaccination or a negative test for customers at consumer-facing businesses and to similarly require employers to mandate vaccinations or negative COVID-19 tests for employees. New opinion polling from Small Business Majority reveals that small businesses in California are supportive of proposals to mandate vaccinations and testing at places of business to help ensure local economies can operate safely, amid setbacks from the current surge in COVID-19 cases.
Nearly a year into the COVID-19 pandemic that has strained California’s economy and public health system, small businesses across the state continue to experience significant financial setbacks.
As the COVID-19 pandemic has raged across the country and resurges in California, small business owners continue grappling with the effects of state and local public health orders and a loss in consumer demand. Nine months into this crisis, California’s small business owners say their businesses have been diminished, leaving them with reduced revenue and operating capacity.
On October 21, Small Business Majority released a new report on small business challenges in hiring and training employees in California and their struggles accessing the broader workforce development ecosystem. The report reveals findings from an online survey of small business owners across the state, as well as separate focus group discussions, interviews and other convenings that provide insights into the ways small business owners approach hiring and training. It also provides recommendations for stakeholders to better engage their local small employers.
It’s no secret that California has been hard hit by the spread of COVID-19, with a vast 2.7 million applying for unemployment in the past four weeks, and the impacts have been particularly severe on small businesses that have seen their revenues take a nosedive overnight. With the economy on pause, Main Street has been left to cope with how to stay afloat during this unprecedented time.
California Governor Newsom and state policymakers are discussing options to further expand California's Paid Family Leave program and ensure more Californians are able to utilize it by increasing wage replacement, extending the amount of leave time available and expanding job protection status for parental leave. As with any discussion of workplace benefits and employment laws, the impact to small business is central to this debate. New scientific opinion polling sheds light on their views on the different proposals and reveals they are in fact supportive of numerous options on the table.
California small business owners broadly support proposed healthcare reforms that would expand access and address affordability, according to new scientific opinion polling. The poll found large majorities of California small business owners support expanding the existing system of premium subsidies to help more people purchase insurance. They also broadly support other proposals aimed at addressing underlying cost and affordability issues across the healthcare system.
Access to capital is consistently one of the most pressing issues for small business owners. A recent survey conducted by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research for Small Business Majority found California small business owners are worried about predatory lending and agree that there should be stronger regulations on online lending. The poll was a national online survey of 500 small business owners with an oversample of 141 California small business owners and conducted between September 29 and October 4, 2017.
A scientific opinion poll released by AARP and Small Business Majority shows a strong majority of California small business owners support the creation of a voluntary, portable retirement savings program that would allow employees to more easily save for their financial future. What's more, small business owners believe offering such a program to their employees would give their business a competitive edge.