Monthly Archive for September, 2011

State Workers Deserve FMLA Protections

Published on September 29, 2011 in Sarah Crawford, Work & Family and Workplace Fairness. 0 Comments

Director of Workplace Fairness

This term, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear Daniel Coleman v. Maryland Court of Appeals – a case that could erode the right of millions of women and men to work free from discrimination and to take job-protected, unpaid leave for serious medical conditions.

In 1993, Congress enacted the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to address persistent sex discrimination caused by unfair employee leave policies. The FMLA guaranteed workers job-protected, unpaid leave for two key reasons: self-care and family-care. A primary purpose of the self-care provision was to prevent discrimination against women based on pregnancy and childbirth. Congress heard ample evidence that outdated workplace policies and practices denied women equal employment opportunity. The self-care provision offered leave on a gender neutral basis to avoid creating incentives for further discrimination against women.

The FMLA set an important family and medical leave standard that guarantees eligible workers – both women and men – up to 12 weeks of job-protected, unpaid leave to recover from a serious illness or medical condition, including pregnancy or childbirth, or to care for a newborn, a newly adopted child or a seriously ill family member. At the National Partnership, we know the details well. After all, we drafted and led the fight for this critical law.

Since its enactment 18 years ago, workers have used the FMLA more than 100 million times. It has helped workers with new babies and dying parents, workers disabled by pregnancy or recovering from childbirth, and workers who have had heart attacks and hysterectomies. More than six million private and public sector workers take FMLA leave each year. It is an incredibly important law for the country’s women and families. But the case now before the Supreme Court could put access to FMLA leave – and the protection from discrimination it ensures – at risk for millions of state workers.

Daniel Coleman was working for a Maryland court when his doctor ordered bed rest due to serious illness. Coleman requested medical leave and, within hours, was fired. Soon after, and with good reason, he filed a lawsuit under the self-care provision of the FMLA.

Unfortunately, the lower courts ruled that the state of Maryland can’t be sued for such violations and they denied his claim. The Supreme Court must now decide if Congress intended for the FMLA’s self-care provision to cover state workers like Coleman. This should be an easy case because the language of the law makes clear that Congress expressly included state workers. The Court should rule to affirm their essential rights.

That’s why, this week, the National Partnership led a coalition of the country’s top civil and workers’ rights and labor organizations that filed a friend-of-the-court brief urging the Court to uphold fundamental FMLA rights for state workers. As we explain, Congress always intended for state workers to be covered by both provisions of the law. And states must be held accountable – like other employers – if they violate it.

The Supreme Court already has established that Congress intended for state workers to be covered by the family-care provision of the FMLA. In the 2003 case of Nevada Department of Human Resources v. Hibbs, we represented state worker, William Hibbs, in his appeal to hold the state of Nevada accountable for violating the family-care provision. The Court ruled that Congress did intend to protect state workers from sex discrimination through that provision.

The Court got it right in the Hibbs case, and the same rule should apply to the self-care provision at issue in the Coleman case. The fundamental right of millions of state workers to take time for their own serious medical needs, including pregnancy and childbirth, is at stake.

America’s Working Parents Deserve Paid Leave – Take Action Today!

Published on September 26, 2011 in Debra Ness and Work & Family. 2 Comments

Debra Ness, President

Cross-posted from MomsRising.

The arrival of a new child should be a time of pure celebration. Sadly, for millions of working parents without paid leave in this country, the joyous occasion can be short-lived. Many of these parents have to make an impossible choice: take time off to recover and care for their new child, or return to work to keep their jobs and protect their families’ economic security.

A mere 11 percent of workers in this country have paid family leave through their employers, and fewer than 40 percent have access to personal medical leave through employer-provided short-term disability insurance. As the sole or co-breadwinners and primary caregivers in the majority of families, working mothers often bear the brunt of these short-sighted policies.

At the National Partnership, we know this all too well. That’s why we drafted and led the fight to pass the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which has enabled millions of workers to take unpaid time off to bond with a new child, recover from illness or care for a sick family member.

Unfortunately, the FMLA passed more than 18 years ago – and Congress hasn’t yet taken the next step to help workers meet the dual demands of work and family. In today’s tough economic times, millions of families cannot afford to take unpaid leave. And only California and New Jersey have passed paid leave programs of their own.

As a result, the country has fallen far behind other nations in supporting its families. In fact, the United States is the only developed country that does not ensure working parents can take job-protected, paid time away from work to care for a new child. A national paid leave standard is long overdue.

That’s why the National Partnership is proud to partner with Working Mother magazine this fall to raise awareness about the urgent need for paid leave in this country.

To get started, we have launched an online petition that will send a clear message to Congress: America’s working parents deserve paid leave! Sign it today, and then make sure everyone you know – every working parent and every person who cares about the health and well-being of our nation – does the same.

Tuesday night, join us on Twitter for a national conversation about paid leave. Share your stories, ask questions of our experts, and connect with fellow working parents and activists committed to making the country more family friendly. The event promises to be a lively, educational exchange. Find all the details here.

There is no question that America’s working parents and children need and deserve a paid leave standard. Together, we can make it happen.

Remembering a Major Step toward Equality in the Courts

Published on September 25, 2011 in Judges & Supreme Court and Judith Lichtman. 2 Comments

Judith L. Lichtman, Senior Advisor

Thirty years ago today, women and girls in every corner of the country watched with pride as Sandra Day O’Connor raised her right hand, took an oath and became the first woman justice on the Supreme Court. As a lawyer who has spent my entire career fighting for equality and justice, it was an extraordinary moment and, as it turns out, one that began an overdue march toward greater representation for women on our courts.

Today, nearly 46 percent of law school graduates are women – a significant jump from 32.8 percent 30 years ago. But it will be many years before some of those new graduates take their places on the bench. Of the more than 17,100 federal and state judges in this country today, only 26 percent are women.

The Senate’s failure to put aside partisan politics and confirm highly qualified judicial nominees is a big part of the problem. President Obama has nominated many strong candidates for the federal bench, including 71 women, but the confirmations of many have been stalled in the Senate. Currently, the confirmations of more than 18 women have been stalled. More than one in seven federal judgeships in the country – 103 positions – are or soon will be vacant. And 31 of them qualify as judicial emergencies.*

Last December, National Partnership President Debra Ness said it was time to sound the alarm on judicial vacancies. “Justice depends on having judges in place to enforce our laws, resolve disputes and protect the rights of those who face discrimination and violations of their rights,” she said. That remains true, and deeply troubling, because the intransigence in the Senate shows no sign of abating.

Unless it does, and unless senators routinely confirm qualified female and male nominees who have a deep commitment to equal justice under the law for women, people of color, workers, seniors, immigrants and everyone who faces discrimination, we will not fully realize the promise of that extraordinary moment 30 years ago – and equal justice will remain elusive.

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* Nominee and vacancy numbers updated November 17, 2011

In the Works: New Patient Rights

Published on September 15, 2011 in Christine Bechtel, Health Care and HIT. 4 Comments

Christine Bechtel

“When it comes to health care, information is power. When patients have their lab results, they are more likely to ask the right questions, make better decisions and receive better care.”
~ HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius

Patients and families may soon have a great opportunity to have more control over ­ and make improvements in ­ the health care they receive. Under a proposed rule released by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services today, patients will be able to receive test results reports directly from labs upon request.

This is great news: it will help patients access their information when they want and need to, ensure that their medical records are updated and accurate, and support them in being active and informed decision-makers in their care.

Does this take doctors out of the equation? Absolutely not. Doctors and other providers always have been and will continue to be essential in helping patients understand and interpret their test results. This rule won’t change that.

Here’s what it will change: Right now, many states have laws that prohibit patients and families from getting their test results directly from the labs; they must go through doctors’ offices instead. And unfortunately, there are still millions of patients who do not receive their lab results, leaving them without the information that they need. That, too, will change.

The new rule will allow patients to have a more hands-on role in their health care decisions and be able to seek the medical attention that they need – and that’s a huge step forward for better care.

Learn more in our statement.

Victory in Seattle!

Published on September 12, 2011 in Vicki Shabo and Work & Family. 2 Comments

Vicki Shabo, Director of Work and Family Programs

It is an exciting day for Seattle workers. After a tireless campaign that brought together workers, business leaders, lawmakers and advocates like never before, Seattle City Council members voted 8-1 in support of a strong paid sick days standard for the city.

As National Partnership President Debra Ness said after the vote: “Momentum for paid sick days is building, and public support is strong across the nation. Seattle has created a model that demonstrates that workers and businesses have shared interests and can work together to ensure workers’ access to paid sick days. It is a welcome change from the scorched-earth opposition we have seen from organized business interests in other places – and it is a wise course.”

Mayor McGinn is expected to sign the bill, making Seattle the third city to have a job-protected paid sick days law. Then, nearly 190,000 workers will be able to rest easier knowing that they will no longer have to make the tough decision between a paycheck and the health of their loved ones.

Passage of this bill is more evidence of the growing momentum and public support for paid sick days in this country. Congratulations to the Seattle Coalition for a Healthy Workforce and the workers, businesses and lawmakers who made this possible. Thanks to your hard work, we are another step closer to the national paid sick days standard all working families and our communities need.

 

UPDATE: Seattle Mayor McGinn signed the bill on September 23, 2011.

Fair Pay: What a Difference a Union Makes

Published on September 2, 2011 in Debra Ness and Workplace Fairness. 14 Comments

Debra Ness, President

On Monday, the country will celebrate Labor Day – a national holiday established to honor the strength of America’s workers and its unions. All workers who are in unions benefit from higher wages, better benefits, retirement security and more – but the union difference for today’s women is especially striking, particularly when it comes to fair pay.

Women now make up half of America’s workforce, and we’re the primary or co-breadwinners in two-thirds of families. When women are paid unfairly, entire families and the national economy suffer. Yet today, women in this country are still paid, on average, only 77 cents for every dollar paid to men. For African American and Latina women, the gap is even worse.

But women in unions experience a much smaller gap. In fact, collective bargaining rights have helped union women to earn almost 34 percent more than nonunion women. That’s a union difference of $217 per week – or more than $11,000 a year! And the difference is greatest for women and people of color. Overall, African American and Latino union workers are paid 31 percent and almost 51 percent more, respectively, than their nonunion counterparts.

Unfortunately, just 11 percent of working women are in unions. And unions nationwide are struggling mightily in the face of shifting industries, a changing economy and unprecedented political attacks. As we all saw in Wisconsin – a state with a long history of advancing rights for workers and women – the governor eliminated collective bargaining rights for a majority of the state’s public employees. The positions most affected were dominated by women and included teachers, nurses and child care providers. Sadly, hostile lawmakers have launched similar attacks on workers and the unions they count on around the nation.

The attempts to weaken unions in this country are attacks on all working people. These attacks cause grave harm to women and families by making it harder for us to win fair wages and the level playing field that we need in the workplace.

As advocates for women continue to push for federal legislation like the Paycheck Fairness Act, we will not forget about the union difference and the role that unions play in establishing standards and protections for America’s workers.

This Labor Day, I hope all women will join me in showing support and solidarity for America’s workers and its unions. A vibrant labor movement in this country helps to promote the fair pay and economic security that America’s working women and our families need and deserve.

Connecticut Poll: Paid Sick Days are a Voting Issue

Published on September 1, 2011 in Vicki Shabo and Work & Family. 0 Comments

Vicki Shabo, Director of Work and Family Programs

Connecticut recently became the first state to pass a law offering many workers the right to earn paid sick days. Now new poll results released by the National Partnership for Women & Families for Labor Day reveal that a majority of the state’s voters look favorably upon the law – and the lawmakers who voted for it:

“[T]he issue of paid sick days brings together a consensus coalition of voters from across the political spectrum,” Hart Research concluded […]. “An overwhelming share of voters believes that paid sick days laws protect working families and balance the needs of employees and employers. Moreover, the survey results show that paid sick days has significant potential as a mobilizing issue during campaigns and elections, and particularly energizes hard-to-reach constituencies.”

Learn more about the poll results in our news release.