A Better Balance Blog

Check out our new video and hear real stories from people whose lives were turned upside down by outdated laws and workplace policies that pushed them out of the jobs they needed to support their growing families. Tags: Untagged Read More

Fifty percent of New York City’s public school parents cannot take time off to care for their children. Instead, they are forced to choose between a paycheck and their child’s health. As Mother’s Day approaches, it’s a fitting time to ask: how can our city better protect its mothers and its children?

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Across the country, pregnant women who request minor adjustments are forced out of their jobs unnecessarily and denied the minor modifications to workplace duties, rules, or policies that would enable them to continue working and supporting their families. Tags: Pregnancy Read More

For Equal Pay Day, A Better Balance interviewed Professor Benard to learn the facts about equal pay and the motherhood penalty. Tags: Untagged Read More

State workers who are pregnant or seriously ill have lost critical rights under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Tags: FMLA, Supreme Court, Pregnancy, Fairness in the Workplace Read More

Women’s History Month is arriving this year in the midst of a “War on Women.” Many of the battles in today’s war are being fought on familiar ground—around women’s reproductive health and choice—but the surrounding context is quite different from that of wars gone by. Tags: Untagged Read More

A Better Balance headed to Washington, D.C. earlier this month to attend an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) meeting on pregnancy and caregiver discrimination. We are thrilled that the EEOC held the meeting to raise awareness of this important issue, but now the federal government must take action. Tags: Untagged Read More

Recent food writing has made much ado about how our food travels from the farm to our kitchens. But far less has been written about the journey from the restaurant kitchen to your dining table. While we’re cheerfully indulging in a delicious meal, craning for quick service, and self-righteously contemplating whether our server earned a 15 or 25 percent tip, the restaurant workers have most likely been toiling under poverty level wages, with no benefits, and little chance for promotion. Tags: Restaurant Workers, Living Wage, Paid Sick Time, Paid Sick Days, Fairness in the Workplace Read More

One and a half million New Yorkers face a terrible dilemma when they or their child become ill. That's because they have no paid sick days. We need a law to lift a burden that's particularly hard on low-income single moms.

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On December 15, 2011, the Obama Administration announced proposed regulations to expand workers' rights protections to home care workers.  Minimum wage and overtime protections are basic labor rights that have been in place for almost all wage workers in the United States for decades--home care workers deserve these rights as well.

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Last week, the U.S. Census Bureau released a report that found that almost 51 percent of working women who gave birth to their first child between 2006 and 2008 received paid leave (which includes sick leave and vacation time), compared to 42% between 1996 and 2000.  While the new figures represent progress, it’s hardly time to cheer.

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This is an opportune time to consider the frustrations of many American parents who struggle to manage the competing demands of work and family.  The income inequality that led to Occupy Wall Street is amplified by workplace policies that make it increasingly difficult for workers to care for their families without risking their economic security. Tags: Telework, Breastfeeding, Workplace Flexibility, National Work and Family Month, Occupy Wall Street, sick leave, Paid Family Leave Read More

Nursing mothers who need to pump breast milk during the LSAT exam are categorically refused accommodations. We just sent a letter to the Law School Admission Council (LSAC) asking them to change their discriminatory policy. 

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NBC’s new comedy show, “Up All Night,” featuring a couple exhaustedly struggling with their new baby, is actually a reminder that in the United States, in many ways, they are very lucky. Tags: Paid Family Leave Read More

Last week, Judge Loretta Preska of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York dismissed a class action suit alleging that Bloomberg L.P. discriminated against pregnant women and mothers returning from maternity leave. Tags: Untagged Read More

New York has one of the strongest laws in the country guaranteeing nursing mothers reasonable break time at work so they can express milk for their babies, but not enough women (or their employers) know about it.

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The staff of A Better Balance is delighted to announce the kick-off of our new blog on work-family issues. We plan to use this space for periodic updates and musings on the issues that are central to A Better Balance’s work: paid sick leave, paid family leave, fair pay, workplace flexibility, antidiscrimination, and other policies that value family care. Tags: sick leave Read More