PathWays PA Policy Blog

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 American Association of University Women (AAUW) has released the 2015 edition of their guide , "The Simple Truth about the Gender Pay Gap." Since the 1970s, when women's annual earnings were only 57% of men's annual earnings for full-time workers, the gender pay gap has narrowed, due in part to women's advances in education and workforce participation. Still, in 2013 women were only making 78% of men's earnings and, in the past decade, the pay gap has barely budged. After accounting for college major, occupation, economic sector, hours worked, months unemployed since graduation, GPA, type of undergraduate institution, institution selectivity, age, geographical region, and marital status, AAUW found that only one year after graduation there was a 7% difference in the earnings of male and female college graduates that could not be explained . This gap only increases with time and age. Women also experience other barriers in the workforce, such as the...

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...

From our friends at the National Partnership for Women and Families Following the White House Summit on Working Families, President Obama announced the following executive actions being taken to help working families. Below are just a few of the actions being issued: $500,000 from the Women’s Bureau to states that want to study paid leave policies DOL is commissioning new research on paid leave in CA, NJ and RI and new research on impacts of paid leave.  Presidential directive to federal agencies on workplace flexibility, identifying best practices and establishing a right to request for federal workers  DOL know-your-rights tool on pregnancy discrimination  Call on Congress to pass the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act Establishing a business group on innovative family friendly practices  And more below on STEM, Childcare, etc. To see a complete list and read more about the issues affecting working families, click here.

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.

Now is the time to add your organization to the letter in support of a FY '14 appropriation of $5 million for the State Paid Leave Fund in the U.S. Department of Labor budget. The fund would provide grants to states considering self-sustaining paid leave programs similar to successful paid family leave insurance programs in California and New Jersey and pave the way for a national paid leave program. National, state and local organizations are all encouraged to sign. Read and sign on to the letter ! Deadline is May 31st.

Federal Policy Updates  HELP SUPPORT PAID FAMILY LEAVE  In the coming weeks, the Senate will consider putting $5 million toward a new State Paid Leave Fund, which President Obama has proposed in his last three budgets. The Fund would help states that want to start paid leave insurance programs for workers and their families.  Five million dollars might not sound like a lot — especially when you consider the size of our multi-trillion-dollar federal budget — but these funds are critically important and could really help build momentum in the states. We all know how important it is for families to have access to paid leave when illness strikes or babies come, and that’s why we need you to contact your senators today. Please urge your Senators to contact their colleagues on the Labor-HHS Appropriations subcommittee and voice their support for the State Paid Leave Fund. From our friends at the National Partnership for Women and Families .  SUPPORT THE PREG...

From our friends at 9 to 5. In 2012, getting pregnant can still cost you your job. Because of loopholes between discrimination and disability laws, employers are refusing to accommodate even simple requests that help workers maintain a healthy pregnancy. Here are three startling examples of women who were fired for doing what was best for their pregnancies:  A retail sales associate in Salina, Kansas was fired for drinking water while working because it violated store policy.  A nursing home activities director in Valparaiso, Indiana lost her job because she could no longer lift heavy tables, an activity that took up less than 10 minutes of her workday and with which her coworkers routinely volunteered to assist.  A pregnant truck driver in Tennessee was instructed by her obstetrician not to lift more than 20 pounds and sought light duty work. Her employer terminated her, as it made such modifications only to those injured on the job.  Sounds crazy, righ...

State Call-to-Action for Public Education In February, Governor Corbett gave his Budget Address and cemented the $900 million dollar cuts he gave to public education funding.  These cuts have lead to increases in class size, the closure of school buildings, the elimination of successful programs such as full-day kindergarten and tutoring and the loss of many instructional and support staff, who teach and take care of students. On March 5, Education Voters of Pennsylvania will hold a Call-to-Action day to encourage individuals to share their thoughts on education cuts with legislators. To learn more and to participate, please visit http://www.educationvoterspa.org/index.php/site/news/call-to-action-for-public-education11/ . Funding for Emergency Mortgage Assistance The issue of the Homeowner’s Emergency Mortgage Assistance Program (HEMAP) is becoming very prominent in Harrisburg and the news media at this time. The Governor’s budget includes no funding for HEMAP, a loan ...

A new study released today finds that California's Paid Family Leave program - the first of only two state programs in the country that offer paid leave to workers when they take time off to care for a new child or sick family member - has received high marks from employers and employees alike since its implementation six years ago. The study, by researchers from UCLA/CUNY and the Center for Economic and Policy Research, is the first to examine the California program and finds that initial business concerns over the costs or potential abuse of the program were unfounded, and that the economic, social and health benefits of paid family leave have been extensive. As a national model for how states can adopt work-family policies that meet the needs of 21st century families, the California study offers valuable insights as policymakers in Pennsylvania consider similar proposals. "California's experience shows that paid family leave is a win-win for employers and employees,...

In a ruling released back in June, the US Department of Labor clarified the FMLA definition of "son and daughter" to show that workers who act as caregivers for a child have the right to do so regardless of their legal or biological relationship.  In other words, if workers in same sex relationships act as caregivers for their partner's children, these workers may take FMLA to care for these children even if they are not adoptive or biological parents . Other family members who care for children (such as relatives who take in children while parents are overseas with the military or grandparents raising grandchildren) also now have the right to take FMLA when appropriate.  For more information on the FMLA and the administrative interpretation, visit the Wage and Hour Division's website or call the division's toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). image courtesy of http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:US_Navy_030117-N-5996C-003_One_of_four_intensive...

Cross posted from the Coalition for Healthy Families and Workplaces Blog . Last week, the White House held a Forum to discuss Workplace Flexibility. At this event, Michelle Obama (among others) spoke about the need for more flexibility in the workplace, including allowing employees to earn sick time. Many folks don't have access to any kind of family leave policies whatsoever. No flexible working arrangements. Many people don't even have a paid sick day. So they are struggling -- struggling every day to find affordable childcare; or someone to look after an aging parent, which is becoming more the issue; scrambling to make things work when the usual arrangements fall through. All of us have been through that. Right now at the federal, state, and city level there is legislation that would let workers earn more sick time flexibility. In order for the bills to move forward and become law, it is crucial that your US , state, and local representatives hear from you. In Penns...

By Janet Walsh Paid parental leave is a human right, one guaranteed by virtually every country. But not the United States! When you gave birth or adopted your kids, did you take leave without pay? How did this affect breastfeeding, your health, your baby’s health, or your family’s finances? How did this affect the timing of your return to work? How else did the lack of paid parental leave affect you and your family? Human Rights Watch, a nongovernmental human rights group, is hoping to interview parents about their experience with unpaid maternity and paternity leave, and the impact on their families. The interviews will be used for a report (using pseudonyms, not actual names of interviewees) and, depending on the findings, for making recommendations on US law and policy. Please contact Human Rights Watch at walshj@hrw.org if you would like to share your story through a short interview. To learn more about Human Rights Watch, visit www.hrw.org . Janet Walsh is Deputy Director o...