SGER: A Real-Time Sociological Study of How Organizations Apply New Law

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Focusing on "law-in-action" rather than "law-on-the-books," this project examines the evolution of employer practices and policies during the initial stages of implementation of a new workplace law. Theories from organizational sociology and the sociology of law emphasize that the ultimate effects of laws are significantly shaped at the interpretaton and implementation stages, though these stages have not been studied as frequently as the legislative and judicial processes. The introduction of a new, unprecedented law in Indiana creates an unusual opportunity to study the evolution of legal sensemaking and compliance in context. This award is made through the NSF's Small Grants for Exploratory Research mechanism because timing is critical: data gathering must begin quickly, during the initial implementation stage, before interpretations shift and memories fade.The specific law to be studied, Indiana Senate Bill 219, requires that, to the extent possible, employers provide private space for women employees to pump breast milk. In contrast to many enacted statutes that shape conditions of employment, the implementation of SB 219 will be uncomplicated by pre-existing policies, enabling the researcher to study how organizations respond to laws in the absence of a status quo. The project will involve interviews and surveys as well as archival data analysis. This study will have both theoretical and practical implications. The project will make fundamental contributions to the state of knowledge regarding how organizations approach and implement new laws. Also, the new law studied in this project relates to many ideas deemed important to American society: social support for family decisions, the conflicts between public and private rights, and tension between work life and family life. Greater understanding of how organizations approach these topics, as well as of how they filter laws generally, is necessary for more effective and appropriate law making in future.