PathWays PA Policy Blog

The House and Senate are heading home soon to meet with their constituents - you. If there's something on your mind, now is a great time to set up a meeting to discuss it. If you're not sure how to go about setting up a meeting (or what to do once you're there), check out our information below. Decide what you want to meet about: There's so many issues to discuss right now - things like  immigration  and  paid family leave/the FAMILY Act. .... Think about what matters to you, and do a little research to learn more until you feel comfortable talking about it When you are ready, find your member of Congress here , and then ask to speak with the scheduler to set up a meeting. Here's a sample script: "Hi, my name is _________, and I'd like to speak to the scheduler about setting up a meeting with Rep. _______ during the August recess. I'm very interested in talking to the representative about __________. In most cases, you will need to go to the legi...

While the Senate chose to skip its usual August recess this year, the House is at home with its constituents - you. Why not take the time to meet with your legislators and tell them what you are thinking about? If you're not sure how to go about setting up a meeting (or what to do once you're there), check out our information below. Decide what you want to meet about: There's so many issues to discuss right now - healthcare ,  DACA , domestic violence and the Violence Against Women Act, paid family leave and the FAMILY Act , payday lending .... Think about what matters to you, and do a little research to learn more until you feel comfortable talking about it. Set up the meeting: Prosperity Now put together a great tool for setting up recess meetings, including a sample email and information on how to contact the scheduler in your legislator's office.  If you're uncomfortable with this format, you can make it simple - find your member of Congress here , a...

Today I had the opportunity to present materials on paid leave and financial resources at a cancer navigators meeting. We're putting these materials online so more people can access them. Special thanks to PathWays PA (in particular Paula Staton) and Family Values @ Work for their research and support! Laws that help patients and caregivers at work Financial Resources for patients and caregivers Resources for staff and counselors to share Put the FMLA to Work for You (PS- please remember that bit.ly links have to be typed exactly as they are, including capitalization, to work!)

The FAMILY Act was introduced to Congress in March of this year. Under this bill, workers would have access to paid sick time. This recompense can help families in a great deal of ways. The way one would apply for “caregiving days” would be through the Office of Paid Family and Medical Leave, which is established in the Act. This Office would then deem eligibility for benefits. In order to be eligible, one must meet multiple requirements. One must be insured under Social Security and held a job in the past 12 months before applying. The “caregiving” must have occurred from 90 days before to 30 days following the application. Monthly recompense can range from $580 to $4,000, depending on one’s income. The amount of benefits is a percentage of one’s wages, therefore a part-time or lower tier employee can still receive assistance, however their assistance may be of a lower monetary value than a full-time employee. The bill covers gaps that FMLA creates. Many who qualify for time un...

The Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) and the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) have updated their  turnover calculator  for employers. In many cases, employers often don't understand just how inefficient employee turnover can be. Businesses incur costly expenses through the processes of searching for and assimilating their employees into the workforce, not only due to the actual cost of details such as background checks and training, but also due to the loss in productivity while new employees learn their jobs. Because of this, many businesses have realized that it is in their interest to improve work place conditions and implement worker protections to reduce turnover - protections such as earned sick days and paid family and medical leave. Still, 39 percent of workers still lack paid sick days while an incredible 87 percent of civilian workers do not have access to paid family leave. Without worker protection, employees can lose their jobs if th...

It happens to almost everyone. Sometimes, the need to take family leave is for the happiest of all reasons, such as the birth or adoption of a child. And at other times, we need to take leave for the scariest of reasons, like a cancer diagnosis or a car accident. But when one of these or thousands of other scenarios come up, most working people in the United States have no access to paid family leave. Taking the time to care means putting jobs and economic security at risk in a time when most families can ill afford it. Last year, Congressional Leaders introduced the FAMILY Act, which would give workers the opportunity to continue earning some money while staying home to care for themselves or their family members. Under the FAMILY Act, employees and employers would create a self-sustaining fund through small shared contributions. Workers could then tap into the fund for a portion of their pay, ensuring that they can pay their bills and contribute to local businesses and the econom...

Celebrate National Work and Family Month with a Facebook chat about the need for paid family and medical leave this Thursday, 10/23 from 1-2 pm. The chat will be co-hosted by the National Partnership for Women & Families, MomsRising, CLASP, Family Values @ Work, and Working Mother magazine, on behalf of the FAMILY Act coalition. Join the conversation here . Interested in PathWays PA blog posts on similar topics? 6/16/14 - FAMILY Act Week of Action Starts Today! 2/5/14 - We’ve Come Not So Long a Way 12/11/13 - Sen. Gillibrand and Rep. DeLauro to Introduce FAMILY Act Thursday!

From our friends at the National Partnership for Women and Families  Join the growing list of partners planning to call on the president and Congress to support the Family And Medical Insurance Leave Act (FAMILY Act)! You'll find templates for many of the suggested activities listed below! You could: Ask your affiliates/partners/chapters/members/leaders to call or email their members of Congress Join a FAMILY Act tweet storm on Thursday, June 19th, from 3:00 - 4:00 p.m. EDT (For more information, contact Sadie Kliner at skliner@nationalpartnership.org .) Share infographics on your social media sites and ask followers to contact their legislators Support USAction's postcard deliveries here in D.C. and in key districts via social media or on the ground (For more information, contact Christine Sloane at csloane@nationalpartnership.org or Patty Snee at psnee@usaction.org .) Join the National Partnership on the Hill on Wednesday, June 18th, and Friday, June 20th, or h...

Paid leave champions Senator Gillibrand and Representative DeLauro are set to introduce the Family And Medical Insurance Leave (FAMILY) Act, a national paid family and medical leave insurance program that would provide workers with up to 12 weeks of paid leave. The legislation will be introduced this Thursday, December 12 on Capitol Hill. Please take a moment and ask your member of Congress to be a cosponsor the FAMILY Act bill .

Please help prepare for the bill introduction and the multi-year campaign to pass the FAMILY Act by emailing your lists or reaching out via social media to encourage people to submit their paid leave stories. The stories of real people are crucial to painting the picture for opinion leaders and policy makers. Please share the link to this story collection survey with your members, supporters, affiliates and chapters and, if applicable, fill it out yourself.