paid sick days

May 25, 2011

A new study for the National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB) estimates that Philadelphia’s proposed paid sick days legislation would cost employers between $350 million and $752 million annually. Both the factual basis and the assumptions underlying this study are seriously flawed. The totals derive from two presumed costs: the amount for new paid sick days coverage, estimated at between 34 and 42 cents per worker hour in direct labor costs, and 38 cents per worker hour in compliance costs for employees who already have paid sick days. Consider the new paid sick days coverage. The...

Robert Drago

paid sick days

May 25, 2011

The human reasons to ensure that all working Philadelphians are able to care for themselves and their ill loved ones are tremendously compelling. The public health rationale for enabling people with contagious diseases to stay home and avoid spreading it is impeccable. But in an era of high unemployment, good policymaking also requires that we answer another question: how would guaranteeing all working people in Philadelphia the right to earn paid sick leave impact the city’s economy? To answer this question, I conducted a study analyzing Philadelphians’ access to paid sick leave and...

Amy Traub

paid sick days

May 25, 2011

Philadelphia’s workers are hoping the city will soon take a critical step toward changing the way workplaces honor families. As early as June, the Philadelphia City Council could approve a law that provides workers the right to earn paid sick time to recover from illness or care for a family member. With more than 210,000 working people in the city lacking this basic protection, establishing a paid sick days standard should be common sense. It’s simple: when workers and their families are healthier, our communities and businesses benefit. Yet 44 million workers in the United States lack paid...

Vicki Shabo

paid sick days

May 25, 2011

Planning, preparation, prevention – it all comes with the territory of being a mom. We try to head off as many accidents and illnesses as we can; we child-proof, we carry hand sanitizer, and we teach our kids to wash their hands. But there is a big hole in our safety net: Two out of five – that’s 41% - of Philadelphia employees are not allowed by their employers to earn even a single paid sick day to care for their own health and thousands more are unable to take a paid day to care for a sick child or parent. [1] This is a big problem . Everyone gets sick at some point or another, but when...

Ruth Martin

paid family leave paid sick days open flexible work

May 10, 2011

By Vicki Shabo, Director of Work and Family Programs, National Partnership for Women & Families Mother’s Day. It’s a day when we shower the mothers in our lives with well-deserved compliments and gifts that show our appreciation. The heartfelt thanks, expressed in cards, flowers and chocolates, certainly have their place, but mothers today also need something much more lasting – policies that let them meet their own needs and those of their families. Today, too many mothers have to choose between the health and wellbeing of their families and their economic security because the United...

National Partnership for Women and Families's picture

National Partnership for Women & Families

childcare & early education paid sick days open flexible work Realistic & Fair Wages

May 6, 2011

In time for Mother's Day, the Institute for Women's Policy Research, a leading think tank in the U.S. focusing primarily on domestic women’s issues, released a compilation of recent IWPR research findings that illustrate the current status of women, especially mothers, in the U.S. When IWPR posted a “Top 5” list of our most revealing research findings last December, we were so encouraged by the level of interest our readers showed in the post, that we decided to turn it into a regular roundup. Although intending to compile another “Top 5” list, the first four months of 2011 were so action-...

Clark Jennifer

paid family leave paid sick days

May 6, 2011

Americans value moms, but US policies don’t – especially when it comes to paid maternity and family leave. Check out this oped on the Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/janet-walsh/paid-leave-act-_b_858198.html

Janet Walsh

paid sick days open flexible work

May 4, 2011

Crossposted from WorkingMother.com One of the most important things a workplace can do to support working mothers and mothers-to-be is to provide for flexibility. In my last few blogs for WorkingMother.com I’ve mentioned the difficulties I’ve faced while working full-time and being pregnant. Early in my pregnancy I went through three months of non-stop nausea that was debilitating and made getting through each work day a big challenge. I’m now in the home stretch with our baby due in mid-May, but the physical challenges I’ve faced didn’t end after the nausea subsided. For the past several...

Michelle Noehren

paid family leave paid sick days open flexible work

May 2, 2011

I just put together a very simple survey about working parents and stress. It takes only 3 minutes to complete. If you're a parent and you work to help support your family, here's what I'd like you to do: 1. Take the survey . 2. Share the survey (or this post) with everyone you know. 3. Come back in a few weeks to read about the results here, or at Working Moms Break . Why am I doing this? There's a ton of research about how time-starved working parents are, particularly in the U.S. where some experts say we work the longest hours of any developed country in the world. There's also a lot of...

Katrina Alcorn

paid family leave childcare & early education paid sick days

April 3, 2011

From Your (Wo)manInWashington blog MOTHERS changing the conversation @ www.MothersOughtToHaveEqualRights.org Women's History Month has drawn to a close, but there's time to sneak in a few comments. In recent weeks, two notable women have died. Elizabeth Taylor left as her legacy decades of activism and outspoken advocacy, saying what many in politics were too afraid to say about HIV/AIDS. Geraldine Ferraro left a marker for women's political participation. For many, her passing provokes dismay and despair that a woman still has not been elected President. Both of them made us see the world...