This week’s election has struck new fear for so many and deepened concerns that there will be setbacks in our fight for equality and justice. As we all continue to digest the results, there is one thing we know: A Better Balance is prepared to continue and rededicate ourselves to the fight for work-family justice and comprehensive, inclusive, and equitable policies that protect working individuals and caregivers across this country.
We also know that the policies we work on–protections for pregnant workers, paid leave, fair and flexible scheduling, affordable childcare, and more–are necessary, overdue, and broadly supported. In fact, this election provided one big glimmer of hope on workplace justice: millions of workers have gained a new right to paid sick time to care for themselves or loved ones. By large and decisive margins, voters in Alaska, Nebraska, and Missouri all passed paid sick leave ballot initiatives that A Better Balance helped to draft and advance with our state partners.
The outcome couldn’t be clearer: voters strongly support paid sick time, regardless of political party, geography, or other factors. These ballot campaigns were called very quickly, given clear margins in support of paid sick time. In Nebraska, paid sick time won by a margin of almost three-to-one, securing victory by nearly 50 percentage points.
All three initiatives will ensure workers employed by large employers can earn up to 56 hours of paid sick time a year, while workers employed by smaller employers can earn up to 40 hours a year. The initiatives all ensure that workers can care for their loved ones, use paid sick time as it is earned, and be protected from retaliation when they need to take sick leave. In addition to making paid sick time a right for workers, Alaska and Missouri’s new laws will also increase the states’ minimum wage to $15 in coming years, promoting economic security for hundreds of thousands of working families.
A Better Balance provided in-depth drafting, legal research, and policy support to robust coalitions in each state, in addition to sharing resources and lessons learned from the national movement for paid sick time. We congratulate all three campaigns for their years of work that led to this victory, including our partners at Nebraska Appleseed, the Alaska AFL-CIO, and Missouri Jobs with Justice, who fought tirelessly to make these fundamental protections a right for millions more workers.
Read more below to learn about each of these new programs:
Nineteen states (including D.C.) have now established the right to paid sick time, while three additional states guarantee paid time off for any purpose (including health needs). Given the success of these paid sick leave and paid time off laws and the significant popularity of these policies – as demonstrated yet again by the Alaska, Nebraska, and Missouri votes – we urge our federal government to ensure that all workers in the U.S. can earn paid sick time to care for themselves and their loved ones. A Better Balance looks forward to working with our partners to support and ensure implementation of these three new laws and building upon these bipartisan ballot wins in every corner of the country.
