Paid Family Leave

Paid Parental Leave: It's About Time

J. Ronald Lally | Posted 05.22.2012

Read More: Fmla, Paid Leave, New Jersey, Maternity Leave, Early Childhood, Pregnancy, Early Childhood Education, U.S., Policy, Family and Medical Leave Act, Paid Family Leave, Parents News
J. Ronald Lally

It's time for the U.S. to catch up with the rest of the industrialized world and stand up for the rights of women and babies.

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The Breastfeeding Brouhaha

Janet Walsh | Posted 05.15.2012

Read More: Women's Rights, TIME Cover, Breastfeeding, Paid Family Leave, Parents News
Janet Walsh

The question isn't who is "mom enough" as the TIME title suggests, but whether policymakers are smart enough to devise sound policies for breastfeeding, work, and paid family leave.

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For Mother's Day: A Present That Values Families

Hannah Matthews | Posted 05.11.2012

Read More: Child Care Options, Mother's Day 2012, Maternity Leave, Child Care, Paid Prenatal Leave, Affordable Child Care, Mother's Day, Family Medical Leave Act, Paid Family Leave, Prenatal Leave, Politics News
Hannah Matthews

It turns out that if our infants do well, our nation does well too. By packaging paid family leave and quality affordable infant care, we can give babies a strong start in their first year of life. That's a package of policies ready for wrapping.

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The Gifts Mothers Really Want

Ellen Bravo | Posted 05.11.2012

Read More: Paid Sick Days, Candidates, Working Parents, Paid Family Leave, Family Leave, Mothers, Economy, Politics News
Ellen Bravo

More and more voters say they're more likely to support candidates who'll make sure family values don't end at the workplace door, and who understand that for the economy to recover, we need policies like these to help people stay employed and have money to spend at local businesses.

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Gay in America: Left Out of Family Leave

Janet Walsh | Posted 05.10.2012

Read More: Paid Family Leave, Gay Marriage, LGBT Rights, Gay Rights, Maternity Leave, Fmla, LGBT Politics, Paid Maternity Leave, LGBT Issues, Family and Medical Leave Act, Marriage Equality, Domestic Partnership, Gay Voices News
Janet Walsh

If the love of your life had major surgery or a serious illness, you would want to be by their side. You'd want to take time off work without losing your job to give them the care they need. But if you're gay, you have no such right under federal law.

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What Fantasy Life?

Madeleine M. Kunin | Posted 04.19.2012

Read More: The 99 Percent, Women, Women's Rights, Unemployment, Women's Issues, Feminism, Paid Family Leave, Family, Politics News
Madeleine M. Kunin

The cover story of Newsweek reads: "The Fantasy Life of Working Women, why surrender is a feminist dream." What fantasy life?

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Coleman v. Court of Appeals of Maryland: A Warning to Women

Marianne Mollmann | Posted 05.26.2012

Read More: Supreme Court, Women's Rights, Fmla, Discrimination, Human Rights, Paid Sick Leave, Gender Discrimination, Health Care, Paid Family Leave, Women's Health, Health Insurance, Politics News
Marianne Mollmann

The decision essentially says that sick leave -- taking care of oneself -- is fundamentally different from family leave -- taking care of someone else -- in that it does not depend on gender differences or stereotypes. This is an erroneous conclusion.

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Getting Back on Track with Family Friendly Policies

Debra L. Ness | Posted 12.27.2011

Read More: Paid Medical Leave, National Work and Family Month, Work and Family, Paid Family Leave, Paid Sick Days, Business News
Debra L. Ness

If our country is ever going to demonstrate that it truly values families, and if we are serious about getting the country and economy back on track, then we need national work and family policy standards.

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Rocking Cradle to Career With Paid Family Leave

Susan Ochshorn | Posted 11.27.2011

Read More: Balancing Work and Family, Women Infants Children, Paid Family Leave, California Paid Family Leave, School Readiness, Parents News
Susan Ochshorn

Here in the land of self-sufficiency and family values, foremost of which is the sanctity of parental childrearing, anything that smacks of social welfare statehood is a tough sell. Never mind that nearly 57 percent of women with children under age one are in the workforce.

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Workplace Flexibility Breeds Contentment on all Sides

Janet Walsh | Posted 08.29.2011

Read More: Paid Sick Days, Work-Family Benefits, Flexibility Policies, Same-Sex Partner Benefits, Paid Family Leave, Job Flexibility, Workplace Flexibility, Women News
Janet Walsh

High-level professionals enjoy a lot more flexibility at work than low-income workers. Workers earning the highest 10% of wages are six times as likely to have paid family leave as the lowest 10%, and more than four times as likely to have paid sick days.

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Sorry I Missed Your Anniversary! Thanks for Keeping Families Afloat.

Joan Williams | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Public Policy, Economic Security, Work/Family Balance, Paid Family Leave, Recession, Politics News
Joan Williams

This July marked the sixth anniversary of the nation's first state law that provides comprehensive paid family leave. Is family leave just a frill? Hardly. In a recession, having it makes a significant economic difference for families.

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Who is Obama Kidding? June Cleaver Doesn't Live Here Anymore

Martha Burk | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Obama, Child Care, Moms, Mother's Day, Day Care, Paid Family Leave, Equal Pay, Parenting, Gender, Politics News
Martha Burk

As individuals, we're pretty fond of our mothers. But as a nation we don't value motherhood all that much. We lag far behind Europe in granting leave for the birth or adoption of a child, for example.

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Shocking New Study: Half of NYC Without Paid Sick Days

Dan Cantor | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Paid Sick Days, New York City Council, Working Families Party, Gale Brewer, Paid Family Leave, New York City, New York, New York State Paid Family Leave Coalition, New York News
Dan Cantor

If you’re sick, stay home.  That’s not just common sense, it’s advice public health officials dealing with Swine Flu and other ...

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Stopping Swine Flu: Paid Sick Days for All New Yorkers

Dan Cantor | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Paid Sick Days, Working Families Party, Mayor Bloomberg, Paid Family Leave, New York City, Swine Flu, New York News
Dan Cantor

For the more than one million New Yorkers who do not have a single day of paid sick leave where they work, staying home with the flu may not be an option.

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Don't Want Swine Flu with Lunch? Then Offer Paid Sick Leave

Steven Hill | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Paid Sick Days, Congress, Paid Sick Leave, Health Care, Paid Family Leave, Barack Obama, Swine Flu Pandemic, Swine Flu, Swine Swine Flu Mexico, Delauro, Business News
Steven Hill

The spread of the H1N1 virus has prompted Obama to urge workers with flu symptoms to "stay home." But for far too many Americans, that is easier said than done.

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Peaceful Revolution: Why Breastfeeding Needs To Be Part of Health Care Reform

Melissa Bartick | Posted 11.17.2011

Read More: Maternity Leave, Health, Cardiovascular-Disease, Obesity Epidemic, Breast Cancer, Why to Breastfeed, Diabetes, Breastfeeding-Legislation, Benefits of Breastfeeding, Breastfeeding-in-the-Workplace, Momsrising, Paid Family Leave, Family, Healthy Living News
Melissa Bartick

Our nation faces epidemics of obesity, breast cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease that could be partially mitigated by the funding of an infrastructure around breastfeeding.

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Obama's Inbox on Women and Work: Welfare, Job Equity, and Education

Philip N. Cohen | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Women, Welfare, Education, Unemployment, Economy, Working Families, Barack Obama, Recession, Gender, Job Losses, Labor Reform, TANF Program, Labor Department, Peter Edelman, Paid Family Leave, Infrastructure, Green Infrastructure, Unemployment Benefits, Bill Clinton Welfare Reform, Politics News
Philip N. Cohen

Although the recession is hitting men's employment more directly, overall women's employment rates in the 2000s have fallen more, and progress toward gender equality has stalled.

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Peaceful Revolution: What Women Wish Gwen Ifill Could Have Asked

Ellen Bravo | Posted 11.17.2011

Read More: Vice Presidential Debate, Child Care, Women Voters, Gwen Ifill, Sarah Palin, Joe Biden, Paid Family Leave, Healthy Living News
Ellen Bravo

I work with eleven statewide coalitions representing a million people, all fighting for policies that value families at work. Here are some questions we wish Gwen Ifill had been allowed to ask.

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