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More Work and Family Resources
Even Supermoms Can't Fight all Germs: Stories from the front lines of motherhood
The stories in this booklet come from the front lines of motherhood and from all fifty states. These stories speak of the impossible choices, struggles, and the sometimes improbable triumphs of mothers, fathers, and other caregivers to care for their children and other loved ones when over 50 million American workers do not have the right to earn paid sick days.
Survey: The Time for Paid Sick Days Is Now
A new survey conducted by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago demonstrates that lack of access to paid sick days has significant negative consequences for public health, health care costs, and families’ financial security. The survey also shows that overwhelming majorities support paid sick days laws as a matter of basic labor policy.
The Working Families Story Bank
The Working Families Story Bank is a collection of story portraits of workers and employers across America. Presented by the Family Values at Work Consortium, a national network of 14 regional coalitions, this story bank provides policy makers with a fact checked story resource as they consider regulatory and private sector approaches to issues of concern to working families.
1000 Voices National Archive
The
'Valuing Families at Work' campaign believes no one should have to
quit their job to care for their family or put their family at risk
in order to keep their job. 1000 Voices includes stories of real people
who are fighting for workplace policies that value families, such as
paid sick days, workplace flexibility, and paid family leave.
Newborn Family Leave: Effects on Business, Parents, and Children
02.01.2010 | The David and Lucile Packard Foundation | This report combines the results of more than 150 studies on the impact of family leave on parents, newborns, and businesses. It synthesizes the most significant research on newborn family leave into one document, providing a broad view of leave's economic and social impacts.
Full Report » Executive Summary>
Are We a Family-Friendly Nation?
09.30.2009 | Redbook | See Mom work (and carpool, and cook, and clean up...). Here's how America's working parents are (and aren't) making it work, with the help of our government and our corporations -- and what can be done to make all of our lives better.
Paid Sick Days: A Strategy To Reduce Emergency Room Visits in New Hampshire
08.28.09 | Human Impact Partners | New Hampshire is considering legislation, HB 662, to ensure that all workers in the state can earn paid sick days. Guaranteed paid sick days would help reduce medical costs by reducing emergency room and hospital use.
Paid Sick Days: Good for America
08.04.2009 | National Partnership for Women and Families | Researchers
have found compelling evidence to support initiatives guaranteeing
paid sick days for working people. Review their publications and statistics
covering the benefits of paid sick days for: children’s health, public
health, victims of domestic violence, stalking and sexual assault,
working families' economic security, businesses, caregivers, people
managing a chronic illness, workers caring for older relatives and
more.
Paid Sick Days: A Strategy To Reduce Communicable Disease Transmission in New Hampshire
07.31.2009 | Human Impact Partners | New Hampshire is considering legislation to ensure that all workers in the state can earn paid sick days. Guaranteed paid sick days would help stop the transfer of communicable diseases in the state - at schools, work places, restaurants, and nursing homes.
Family-Friendly Workplaces: Do Unions Make a Difference?
07.15.2009 | UC Berkeley Center for Labor Research and Education and the Labor Project for Working Families | Analyzes the “union difference” in family-friendly workplace policies by reviewing studies that compare union workplaces with nonunion workplaces to determine whether there is a difference in the extent to which these workplaces implement policies that acknowledge their employees’ family responsibilities and promote a healthy and viable balance between work life and home life. The report finds that in most areas unionized workers receive more generous family-friendly benefits than their nonunionized counterparts.
Pay During Leave May Improve Leave-Taking’s Effects on Families with Chronically Ill Children
06.01.2009 | American Journal of Public Health | Among parents of children with serious chronic illnesses who missed work because of their child’s illness, those who received full pay during leave reported more positive effects of leave-taking than those who received no pay.
Paid Family Leave: Helping today’s working families meet their family responsibilities at critical times
06.15.2009 | Sloan Work and Family Research Network | A fact sheet for state legislators covering paid family leave policy development, public support, affect on working families, businesses and government, and steps policymakers have already taken. Comments by Arizona Representative Daniel Patterson.
2009 – 2010 Legislative Summary Sheet: Bills Related to Paid Sick Leave Recently Introduced into State Legislatures
06.15.2009 | Sloan Work and Family Research Network | An overview of the policy and legislation related to paid sick leave.
Better Paid Sick Day Policies Don't Mean Job Loss
06.11.2009 | Center for Economic Policy Research | Examines countries with the same level of economic development as the United States, and finds no statistically significant relationship between national unemployment rates and legally-mandated paid sick days in countries with paid sick days standards.
Guaranteeing workers paid sick days would significantly improve
the nation's health
06.10.2009 | National Partnership for Women and Families | More than one-third of flu cases are transmitted at schools and workplaces...[and] guaranteed paid sick days would reduce the spread of pandemic and seasonal flu by enabling workers to comply with public health advice if they or their family members show signs of illness. Infected workers staying home could reduce the spread of a pandemic flu virus by up to 34 percent, according to the study. Paid sick days will also protect the public from diseases carried by sick restaurant workers, and benefit nursing home residents, visitors and workers.
U.S. Maternity Leave Benefits Are Still Dismal
05.04.2009 | Forbes.com | What makes 1993 Family and Medical Leave Act so unhelpful for many working women is that companies with fewer than 50 employees are exempt from abiding by it--meaning that these smaller firms are not obligated to grant any time off to care for a newborn (or sick family member). Although many large companies, such as Wall Street outfits and telecommunication firms, offer some kind of paid-leave package, more than half of U.S. companies employ fewer than 50 people. The statistics are revealing.
Pay During Leave May Improve Leave-Taking’s Effects on Families with Chronically Ill Children
04.01.2009 | American Journal of Public Health | A new study published in the April 2009 issue of the American Journal of Public Health has found that, among parents of children with serious chronic illnesses who missed work because of their child’s illness, those who received full pay during leave reported more positive effects of leave-taking than those who received no pay.
Nation’s First Paid Sick Leave Law Posed Few Problems for Employers, Study Finds
03.31.2009 | A new Urban Institute study provides the first look at how employers implemented San Francisco’s groundbreaking law requiring paid sick days for all employees. Faced with three new rules affecting wages and benefits, business owners reported minimal problems with paid sick leave specifically. The study details employer experiences, highlighting changes to their operations, staffing, employee-benefit packages, and reporting requirements. The study concludes with recommendations for federal, state, and local officials debating paid sick leave policies. More »
State and Local Action on Paid Sick Days: 2009
03.09.2009 | National Partnership for Women and Families | In 2006, San Francisco became the first locality in the nation to guarantee paid sick days for all its workers. In 2008, Washington, DC and Milwaukee, Wisc., passed paid sick days standards, and became the first to offer paid safe days for victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking. Since then, a national paid sick days movement has grown. Advocates are advancing paid sick days initiatives in fifteen states and in Congress. Fact Sheet »
Our Economy Needs Family Values at Work Now More than Ever
03.01.2009 | 9to5.org | Keeping the nation’s workers employed is a key priority in these difficult times. Especially during a recession, losing a job can be catastrophic for employees and their families, and can add demands on already strained state services. That’s why a policy such as paid sick days is an essential job retention strategy. Fact Sheet »
Paid Leave in the States: A Critical Support for Low-wage Workers and Their Families
03.01.2009 | National Center for Children in Poverty | A handful of states have enacted policies that provide partially paid leave under certain circumstances. This brief begins by discussing research on the benefits of family leave and describing the federal Family and Medical Leave Act. It then examines the strengths and limitations of existing state-level policies, with a focus on California, which in 2002 became the first state to enact paid family leave. Finally, the brief concludes with recommendations for state policymakers considering paid family leave, with an emphasis on how these policies could be crafted to best serve the needs of low-wage workers and their families.
Paid Sick Days debated in Milwaukee
02.10.2009 | YouTube/9to5.org | Ellen Bravo of 9to5 and Tim Sheehy of the Milwaukee Metropolitan Association of Commerce (MMAC) debate Milwaukee's new paid sick days law. Watch »
Valuing Families at Work: Priorities for Federal Action
01.01.2009 | Multi-State Working Families Consortium and the National Partnership for Women & Families | A concise summary of proposed new federal workplace standards to:
- Guarantee a minimum number of paid sick days for everyone in the labor force.
- Ensure job-protected and affordable family and medical leave for all workers.
- Ensure all employees have the right to greater control over their work schedules so they are not penalized for care giving responsibilities.
These new standards would greatly reduce poverty, enhance economic security and have promote other positive impacts on families, businesses and communities across the nation. Full Report »
Investing in Infrastructure and Programs that Help Working Families
12.22.2008 | Multi-State Working Family Consortium | President-elect Obama has called for an economic recovery plan that is “equal to the task” of helping the U.S. economy out of the recession. It is clear from the plan being developed by the President-elect and Congress that the U.S. is about to embark on a historically large job creation and infrastructure enhancement program. Any such program must recognize that the labor force has changed dramatically in the past 50 years. Full report »
Addressing Family Responsibilities Discrimination
12.15.2008 | Sloan Work and Family Research Network | Workplace discrimination against mothers and others based on their family caregiving responsibilities is a rapidly growing problem. Recently, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) responded by issuing new enforcement guidance on caregiver discrimination. State policymakers are beginning to respond, too. Full Report »
Paid Sick Days Improve Overall Health
11.01.2008
| Human Impact Partners | The California Healthy Families, Healthy
Workplaces Act of 2008 (AB 2716) and other similar bills being considered
around the country would guarantee that all workers in the state accrue
at least one hour of paid sick time for every 30 hours worked. In the
spring of 2008, Human Impact Partners and researchers at the San Francisco
Department of Public Health conducted a Health Impact Assessment of
the California bill, evaluating how it could protect and improve public
health. This report provides a summary of the findings of that assessment.
Then in the fall of 2008, HIP conducted a briefer analysis of a ballot
referendum being considered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin that would give
workers in the city similar benefits to those proposed in the California
bill.
Job Growth Continues With Paid Sick Days
10.20.2008 | Institute for Women's Policy Research | Despite an economic slowdown affecting all counties in the Bay Area starting in 2007, San Francisco maintains a competitive job growth rate that exceeds the average growth rate of nearby counties. Further, San Francisco business leaders are saying that the policy has not negatively impacted employers. News Release » Fact Sheet »
Video: City of Mamas
10.07.2008 | Parents for Paid Leave | "We the People" travels to the child-friendly city of Portland, Oregon, where a group of mothers are fighting to balance work and family. Watch »
Parental Leave Policies in 21 Countries: Assessing Generosity and Gender Equality
09.01.2008 | Center for Economic and Policy Research | This report examines the parental leave policies in 21 high-income nations and identifies five "best practices" for parental leave policies. The study shows that the U.S. has the least generous leave policies of the 21 countries examined in the report. The states exhibiting the five best practices include Finland, France, Greece, Norway, Spain, and Sweden. Summary » Full Report »
Work-Life Policies for the 21st-century Economy
05.01.2008 | The Mobility Agenda | The U.S. economy, workplace, workforce, and labor market have changed radically in the last 50 years, yet our public and private policies have not kept up with these changes. In recent years, policymakers have begun considering new options for allowing workers to meet the often-conflicting demands of work and other life obligations. These proposals include a variety of options for time off from work—both paid and unpaid—and more flexibility in the workplace. In this report, we review the evidence regarding work-life conflicts, the economic case for policy initiatives, and evidence of effectiveness of the policy options. We provide a clear explanation of these policy options and make recommendations for decision-makers. Full report »
Maternity Leave and Employment Patterns of First-Time Mothers: 1961–2003
02.01.2008 | U.S. Census Bureau | Examines trends in maternity leave and the employment patterns of women who gave birth to their first child between January 1961 and December 2003.. Full Report »
The Work, Family, and Equality Index: How Does the United States Measure Up?
This report was developed to measure governmental performance around the world in meeting the needs of working families. To complete the index, data were gathered from 177 countries that represent a wide range of political, social and economic systems, and compared against the United States. Full report »
Flexible Work and Well-Being Study
10.01.2007 | University of Minnesota | Researchers have just released a report highlighting two years of work looking at a program at Best Buy called Results Only Work Environment (ROWE). One of the several goals of the study was to determine if working in a ROWE environment reduces tension between individuals' work and family/personal lives. Full report »
Family Values at Work: It’s About Time!
Why We Need Minimum Standards to Ensure a Family-Friendly
Workplace
09.26.2007 | 9to5.org | Documents the consequences for workers, families, businesses and the nation when family values end at the workplace door, and lays out a policy agenda including a minimum number of paid sick days for routine illnesses as well as a family leave insurance fund to provide income during longer-term leaves for a new baby or serious health condition. Full Report »
Importing Success: Why Work-Life Family Policies from Abroad Make Sense for the U.S.
06.14.2007 | Government Accountability Office | Findings from a new report on policies used abroad to help workers - especially women - balance the competing demands of employment and care-giving responsibilities. Full report »
Working Sick, Getting Stiffed: How Some of America’s Biggest Companies Fail Their Workers and Jeopardize Public Health
03.01.2007 | ACORN | Nearly half of American private-sector workers have no guaranteed paid sick days – yet everyone gets sick and everyone needs time to get well. Workers also have families and responsibilities to care for sick children and other relatives who need them. Full report »
2005 National Study of Employers, Families and Work Institute
09.06.2005 | Families and Work Institute’s 2005 National Study of Employers (NSE) is the most comprehensive and far-reaching study of the practices, policies, programs and benefits provided by U.S. employers to address the changing needs of today’s workforce and workplace. Because this study was designed to build on the Institute’s landmark 1998 Business Work-Life Study (BWLS), it also provides trend data on changes that have occurred over the past seven years. Executive Summary » Full Report »
Maternity leave, early maternal employment and child health and development in the US
02.01.2005 | Royal Economic Society | In the US context, there is considerable evidence that child developmental outcomes are generally better if mothers do not work, or do not work full-time, in the first year of life. Children whose mothers returned to work within 12 weeks are 2.4% less likely to receive welkl-baby care, 7.5% less likely to be breastfed, 3.4% less likely to receive all of their immunizations. They are also breastfed for about 4.5 fewer weeks. Children of women who returned to full-time work within 12 weeks post birth had 12 % more behavioral problems at ages 3 and 4. Full Report »
Symposium on Parental Leave, Early Maternal Employment and Child Outcomes
02.01.2005 | Royal Economic Society | Finds that children whose mothers stay out (of the workplace) for more than 12 weeks are more likely to be breastfed, are breast fed longer, are more likely to be fully immunized, and are more likely to receive recommended preventative (well-baby) care. Further notes that extending leave by 10 weeks will reduce infant mortality by 2.6%, and extending paid leave to 12 months could reduce infant mortality rates by 13.6% in the US. Full Report »
Give Me A Break: The Extent of Paid Holidays and Vacation
08.22.2002 | Center for Economic Policy Research | American workers hold a unique position among workers in industrialized countries: U.S. law guarantees them no holidays or vacation. While every other industrialized country has a legislated minimum number of days of paid leave, employers are not required to provide workers in the United States with any vacation. Full report »
Parental leave and child health
03.08.2000 | Journal of Health Economics | Rights to parental leave are associated with substantial decreases in pediatric mortality, and the evidence indicates that parental leave may be a cost-effective method of bettering child health. A 10 week increase in paid leave is predicted to reduce infant mortality rates between 2.5 and 3.4% . Rights to a year of job-protected paid leave are associated with roughly a 20% decline in post neonatal death and a 15% decrease in fatalities occurring between the first and fifth birthdays. By contrast, unpaid leave is unrelated to infant mortality. Full Report »
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