Some States Respond to Recession with Work-Family Policies

October is a special month; it is National Work & Family Month. And, as David Gray of the New America Foundation has eloquently stated, "it is a time to remember the challenges millions of Americans face in balancing their work and family lives and to issue a call to action to do something about it."

In light of the current economic downturn, the challenges of work and family balance are ever more exacerbated. With 70% of American households with children relying on two incomes or one single parent income to make ends meet, the loss of earnings has devastating effects on the economic and physical well-being of families. In fact, most families today are experiencing one or more of the following challenges:

1) Unemployment;

2) Increased financial strain;

3) Increased physical and mental stress;

4) More involuntary part-time work; and

5) Decreased time for caregiving.

There is some good news, though; there are some who are responding to this call to action. First, businesses are trying to do their part in helping families, with 81% of businesses recently reporting that they are maintaining their workplace flexibility programs and 13% indicating that they have increased these programs (cite to Families and Work) Meanwhile, the Federal Government is helping Americans on many different levels (See also here and here). Finally, one group you may not hear as much about -- state legislators -- have also been focused on finding solutions to the difficult work and family balance issues facing Americans today.

In 2009, state legislators across the country have been instrumental in trying to help American families regain their footing. They have been proposing a number of different work-family policies related to the stressors listed above, including bills that provide:

1) part-time workers with unemployment benefits (AL, HI, ID, MI, MD, NY, OR, RI, TN, TX, WA);

2) part-time workers with health care benefits (HI, MA, RI);

3) equal pay for men and women/pay parity (AL, CO, CT, DE, FL, ID, IA, LA, MI, MS, NV, NY, PA, and VT);

4) paid family leave (AZ, HI, MA, MO, NH, NY, OR, WA); and

5) paid sick days (AK, CA, CT, IL, MA, ME, MN, NH, NC, OH, PA, TN, VT, WV)

Moreover, during this past legislative session, some state legislators have continued to focus on ongoing work-family balance issues, including the mismatch of work and family schedules. This mismatch has led them to sponsor bills relating to telework (with twelve states recently proposing related legislation, including CO, CT, GA, HI, IA, ID, MN, NJ, NY, TX, VA, WA) and flexible work (with twelve states recently proposing related legislation including CA, CT, DE, GA, KS, MD, MS, OK, OR, NH, NY, VA ).

While there is no doubt that the call to action is still being sounded and there is much more work to be done, it is important and heartening to note that some state legislators are focused on these work-family issues. To learn more about state legislators' interests in the work-family arena, visit The Sloan Work and Family Research Network.