Women's eNews (https://womensenews.org/tag/worker_benefits/)
Sen. Gillibrand and Rep. DeLauro recently introduced a bill that could end the intolerable choices so many working families face when a baby is born or a family member falls ill. Twelve weeks of partially paid leave would help untold numbers of women keep their jobs.
The government shutdown held up Labor Department webinars about the new home health care ruling that takes effect Jan. 1, 2015. Advocates say they will press various agencies to explain the ruling to the public.
The family friendly ordinance passed this month gives workers with caregiving responsibilities the right to request changes to their working conditions, including requests for predictable scheduling. A similar law was also passed in Vermont.
Cashiers earn the least of the 20 most common occupations for women. But for one woman working at Trader Joe’s the deal is very different. “They pay enough to keep employees happy,” says Carolynn Nielsen.
Connie Larson is taking time off so her feet can heal, which means no pay and paying out of pocket. Beyond her own problems, she worries about the sales and commission quotas she is supposed to enforce. “It’s a fear-based situation,” she says.
In this society we toss the placenta, or afterbirth, despite the nutritional benefits that traditional medical practitioners have long understood. That’s analogous to the way we also trash the maternal support services, or “political afterbirth,” that should sustain our mothers.
The Supreme Court heard arguments March 27 in a case that challenges the Defense of Marriage Act, the federal law that defines marriage as between one man and one woman.
The Family Medical Leave Act was passed 20 years ago and despite the hue and cry, the sky did not fall on employers or the economy. It’s time to extend these vital protections to more workers and more obligations.
Low-wage workers from different industries gathered yesterday to demand better paychecks and more rights, continuing the recent push for such benefits.