Debra L. Ness

As families throughout the country were making their Mother's Day plans, some lawmakers were similarly focused on America's women. But unlike the short-lived events of Mother's Day weekend, their attention was on the kind of support and family-friendly policies mothers and working families need year-round. We applaud the lawmakers who...

On Sunday, millions of mothers will be celebrated and honored -- some for the first time, and others as part of a fun family ritual. But when the family fun and gift giving ends, we should all take a moment to think about the kind of help and support that...

Women's work. Last week, when Hilary Rosen used words she quickly admitted were poorly chosen, we were all reminded that it remains a huge flashpoint in our society. But there are some truisms that will hold even after the media frenzy and politically-motivated discourse subside.

First, America's moms aren't at...

This week, all the talk in Washington has been about handicapping the outcome of the Supreme Court health reform cases, and identifying winners and losers. What did the justices mean with each question? Which way are the potential swing votes leaning? Will the Court reach consensus of any kind? What...

There are more than 10 million restaurant workers in the United States. The majority are women. These are the hosts and hostesses who greet us, the waiters and waitresses who serve us, the bartenders who fill our drink orders, the attendants and dishwashers who clean up after us, set up...

It may be the single most important law ever passed to address the needs of workers trying to meet their work and family responsibilities. And this week, in the midst of an economic downturn that has made job protection especially critical, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in...

It's not literally the 99 percent versus the privileged few, but it's one of the most noteworthy divides I have seen.

Most of us who earn paid sick time cannot imagine that any workers in this country do not.

And tens of millions of workers who toil for...

All year, we've seen partisan politics impede the progress America needs -- from jobs to anti-discrimination measures to work and family advances to the safety net. On Tuesday, we had a stark reminder that our system of justice too can fall victim to political gamesmanship.

After more than a year...

As National Work and Family Month drew to a close this time last year, working families were hopeful that the upcoming election would mean that the economy would turn around, families would regain control of their finances and economic security, and the country would finally get back on track after...

Today's working families are juggling 'Ozzie and Harriet' policies in a web 2.0 world, and it's simply not sustainable. Workers are struggling to care for their families while both parents hold jobs. Families are straining to meet increasing child- and eldercare responsibilities. Parents have little savings to fall back on,...

In January, President Obama made the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act the first bill he signed into law, reversing the effects of a devastating Supreme Court decision in the fair pay case, Ledbetter v. Goodyear.  Just four months later, we're faced with another deeply disappointing Supreme Court ruling...

It may be one of the deepest, yet least-known, economic divides in our society. So often, doctors, teachers, union members and others with benefit packages are amazed to learn that millions of workers in this country are without paid sick days. I hear gasps when I talk about it to...