Our History

Between 2005 and 2024, Dina Bakst and Sherry Leiwant, Co-Founders and Co-Presidents, led A Better Balance’s groundbreaking efforts in transforming the American workplace into one that promotes gender equality and no longer undervalues the important labor of caregiving.

At the time of our founding, conversations about work/family balance were about professional and high-income earning women, ignoring the experiences of low-wage working women, particularly women of color. We believed an organization was needed to advocate for legal and policy reforms that served every family, promoting policies that large numbers of workers needed in order to be able to provide care for themselves and their families without risking their economic survival. These founding principles are more important now than ever.

The underpinning of our organization is the idea that when we value the work of providing care, which has long been marginalized due to sexism and racism, our communities and our nation are healthier and stronger. We know women in this country still bear the brunt of caregiving responsibilities and that women of color, in particular, have historically maintained the role of primary breadwinner and caregiver for their families as well as paid caregivers to other families.

To create a level playing field for mothers and all caregivers in America, A Better Balance runs a free legal helpline, conducts extensive public education, and works in every corner of the country, and in Congress, to pass and enforce critical work-family policies that will change the nature and makeup of caregiving. Read more about our impact here.

In 2005, Dina and Sherry launched A Better Balance with a conference at Barnard College, and a subsequent report, laying out a groundbreaking vision and agenda for combatting the care crisis and advancing fair and supportive workplace policies in America. Read the report.

“One of the major problems facing all individuals in U.S. society is that the labor of caregiving is undervalued. We treat the work of caring for children, older persons, and those who are sick or disabled as secondary to other forms of labor. As a result, the work of caregiving is most often poorly compensated or completely unpaid; we expect caregiving to take place in the gaps of our “leisure” time, rather than making it central to our working lives. Because caregiving is treated as a private concern, the labor it involves becomes invisible, and caregivers form part of an invisible labor force. The labor of stay-at-home parents disappears. Domestic workers who provide paid care usually perform their labor without adequate legal protections and without the right to organize for better conditions. Moreover, these workers face an intense doublebind, providing crucial care for their employers while facing a range of challenges in providing similar care for their own families. All of these issues, running across the economic spectrum, arise from the same source: a fundamental refusal by our society to value caregiving despite its critical importance to each individual and to society as a whole”

Timeline

2024

As 2024 began, more than 3 million Coloradans gained the legal right to job-protected paid family and medical leave under the state’s FAMLI program, which we have worked to develop, defend and implement since it passed via ballot initiative in 2020.
In 2024, A Better Balance’s Southern Office celebrated its 10th anniversary of fighting for work-family justice on the ground out of our Nashville, TN office. In our Southern Office’s first decade, we helped to pass 28 supportive work-family laws in Southern states.
New York City updated its landmark Earned Sick and Safe Time Act (ESSTA) to allow for stronger enforcement by including a private right of action.
We submitted a comprehensive memo highlighting the need for a federal paid family and medical leave program and sharing the lived expertise of workers in response to a request for information (RFI) from the House Bipartisan Paid Family Leave Working Group.
We released and authored a report with our partners at Equality Federation and the Local Solutions Support Center entitled “Preempting LGBTQ+ Rights: How States Undermine Local Leadership and Innovation on LGBTQ+ Equality,” which shares strategies to mobilize against abusive state preemption tactics to advance LGBTQ+ equity and work-family justice.
In April, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced final regulations interpreting the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, incorporating many of the suggestions from our 2023 comment calling on the agency to appropriately recognize the broad scope of the law.
We released a new interactive resource providing a comparative overview of state-level paid family and medical leave laws.
We authored an article for the Fordham Urban Law Journal titled How Local Paid Sick Time Innovations—and the COVID-19 Pandemic—Have Shaped a Growing Paid Leave Movement Across the United States, which traces the history of the nationwide fight for paid sick time.
The Connecticut Legislature passed legislation significantly expanding the state’s first-in-the-nation statewide paid sick time law, a reform effort that we have worked on for years since the law’s passage in 2011.
The Department of Education finalized regulations interpreting Title IX, which strengthened and clarified protections for pregnant and parenting students.
A court in the Southern District of New York issued a new decision reversing a prior order on New York City and New York State’s Pregnant Workers Fairness Acts and adopting the correct interpretation of the laws we had outlined in an amicus brief to the court months prior.
In June, we filed two charges with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleging Chick-fil-A and Amtrak both violated employees’ rights under the federal Pregnant Workers Fairness Act using abusive attendance policies.
A federal judge ruled in favor of upholding the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s regulations for the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act in Tennessee v. EEOC, a decision we supported via an amicus brief we joined alongside partners.
As we celebrated the one year anniversary of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act taking effect in June, we released a report, “Pregnant and Finally Protected,” which analyzes the impact the law had during its first year in effect.
Building on its legacy as the first Southern state to pass a paid parental leave policy covering both state government employees and educators, Georgia expanded its paid parental leave program.
The Michigan Supreme Court ruled that the Michigan Legislature violated the Michigan Constitution when they adopted and gutted the state’s Earned Sick Time and Earned Minimum Wage ballot initiatives, which we helped to draft and advance with our Michigan partners. We authored and submitted an amicus brief to the Michigan Supreme Court in this case, and the decision ensures that expanded paid sick leave protections will take effect for millions of Michiganders in 2025.
After advocacy from labor partners with support from ABB, the Metropolitan Washington Airport Authority (MWAA) voted to enact a paid sick leave policy for service workers at Dulles International Airport and Reagan National Airport in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area.
We mobilized to defend against legal attacks on the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act in the matter of Texas v. Garland, including by submitting an amicus brief with our partners at March of Dimes. We were pleased to see amicus briefs from a broad array of stakeholders.
A Better Balance proudly and voluntarily recognized our employee union with UAW Local 2325, marking the beginning of a partnership built on shared values and a mutual commitment to our respective missions.
As our beloved Co-Founders Dina Bakst and Sherry Leiwant stepped down as Co-Presidents in 2024, we celebrated their legacy as leaders in the work-family justice movement as they passed the torch to our new leadership in October.
We welcomed our new President, Inimai Chettiar, as the organization enters an exciting new era building upon the foundational work of our Co-founders, Dina and Sherry.
In November, voters in Alaska, Nebraska, and Missouri voted overwhelmingly to create three new state-level paid sick time programs via ballot initiatives we helped to draft and develop with state partners.

2023

On January 1, workers in New York State gained the right to take paid family leave to care for their siblings as part of an expansion to the state’s landmark program.
The first of the year also saw the beginning of benefits collections for Oregon’s and Colorado’s paid family and medical leave programs, as well as paid sick time expansions in Washington State and expanded family coverage in California for paid sick time and unpaid family leave.
Birmingham, Alabama Mayor Randall Woodfin announced a new policy to provide city government employees with 12 weeks of paid parental leave for the birth, adoption, or foster placement of a child.
A Better Balance joined the White House for a celebration of 30 years of the landmark Family and Medical Leave Act, as well as the newly passed Pregnant Workers Fairness Act and PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act. Natasha Jackson, an ABB Community Advocate and a mother from South Carolina who helped call for the passage of the PWFA, gave remarks and introduced President Biden at the event.
We filed a lawsuit in federal court against Walmart on behalf of client Virginia James, a South Carolina resident and former Walmart employee, alleging that Walmart punished Ms. James – by assigning her attendance points and ultimately firing her – because of her disabilities.
In February, we released a new report, “The Time Is Now: Building the Paid Family and Medical Leave New Yorkers Need,” making the case for making updates to modernize New York’s paid leave program.
The Georgia Family Care Act, which ensures that workers who receive paid sick days from their employers can use up to 5 of those days to care for a family member who is ill, became permanent law.
In April, Tennessee passed legislation to provide state government employees with 6 weeks of paid parental leave to recover from childbirth and bond with a new child. Shortly thereafter, legislation passed with unanimous support to provide Tennessee public school teachers and administrators with 6 weeks of paid parental leave.
On April 28th, enhanced remedies of the PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act took full effect.
We joined with Towards Justice and Andrew Turner of Milstein Turner PLLC to represent the Transport Workers Union of America Local 556 to file a motion in federal court seeking to intervene in the case brought by Southwest claiming that Colorado’s Healthy Families and Workplaces Act (HFWA) does not apply to their operations.
We joined Chairman Sanders, Senator Gillibrand, and Ranking Member DeLauro in Washington D.C. for a rally celebrating Congress’s reintroduction of the Healthy Families Act and the FAMILY Act.
Eight years after being illegally fired from his job at JetBlue Airlines as a ground operations crew worker at JFK Airport in Queens, NY after he used sick time to care for his mother, our client Tony Lynah received a $45,000 restitution payment for his lost wages.
In May, Minnesota enacted a strong statewide paid sick time program. Shortly thereafter, the state passed a strong paid family and medical leave insurance program, into law, making MN the first Midwestern state to enact comprehensive statewide paid family and medical leave.
In June, we released a report, “Winning The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act,” detailing the inside story on the decade-long movement for passage of this groundbreaking new civil rights law and imparting lessons learned.
On June 27th, the federal Pregnant Workers Fairness Act took effect! We attended an event at the White House celebrating this momentous victory alongside ABB Community Advocate Lauren Porter, who spoke and shared her experience.
In July, Maine became the fourteenth state to enact a comprehensive paid family and medical leave program, providing nearly all workers in the state with up to 12 weeks of paid leave each year.
In August, for National Breastfeeding Month, we joined with partners to highlight new protections for expecting and new parents under the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act and PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act with a billboard in Times Square, the busiest intersection in the country.
We issued a comprehensive comment applauding the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for its proposed regulations for enforcing the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act and offering extensive feedback on how the agency can further strengthen the rule, grounding in the experiences of hundreds of pregnant workers across 44 states.
Louisiana enacted paid parental leave for 70,000 state government employees. We joined a press conference alongside Governor John Bel Edwards as he signed the policy into law.
Our free and confidential legal helpline expanded its capabilities to assist pregnant, recently postpartum, lactating, and parenting students at any education level – including high school and college students – in exercising their rights to be free from discrimination at school and to access the accommodations they need.

2022

As we entered 2022, many new workplace rights we helped draft and pass went into effect, including new paid family and medical leave protections in Connecticut, expanded paid sick leave access in Colorado, expanded paid family and medical leave in Rhode Island and New York, expanded job-protected unpaid leave in California and Oregon, and expanded protections for pregnant workers in Minnesota.
In January, the Treasury released a final rule confirming–as requested by ABB–that American Rescue Plan funds can be used to create, expand, or support state paid leave programs.
Senator Elizabeth Warren and other members of Congress sent a letter to federal enforcing agencies to demand an investigation into Amazon’s attendance policy citing A Better Balance’s legal concerns with the policy as detailed in our report, Misled & Misinformed.
We released Sick Without A Safety Net, a new report highlighting the urgent need for a federal paid sick time law, drawing lessons learned from both the paid sick time laws the organization has successfully passed in dozens of states and localities.
Alongside the Black Mamas Matter Alliance, we released Centering the Experiences of Black Mamas in the Workplace: How the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act Can Support Black Maternal Health, a joint report drawing on lessons learned from a listening session our organizations hosted with Black birth workers and Black organizational leaders from nine states.
On International Women’s Day, A Better Balance was named winner of The Visionary Prize for Women’s Economic Empowerment in recognition of our work advancing justice for working women.
In April, Maryland’s state legislature approved and enacted a comprehensive paid family and medical leave program, providing nearly all Maryland workers with up to 12 weeks of job-protected paid family and medical leave each year to care for themselves or a loved one. We are proud to have worked together with our partners in the Maryland Time To Care coalition to advance this crucial policy.
Nashville Mayor John Cooper announced a plan to provide the city’s public school employees with paid family leave, building on the successful paid family leave policy for Metro Nashville government employees that ABB helped draft and enact in 2017.
South Carolina lawmakers approved a bill with near-unanimous support to provide state employees with up to 6 weeks of paid parental leave. We were proud to support our partners at South Carolina Women’s Rights and Empowerment Network (WREN) who led the push for this legislation.
In May, Delaware Governor Carney signed the Healthy Delaware Families Act into law, providing paid family and medical leave to covered workers starting in 2026. We were proud to support our partners in the Delaware Cares Coalition in fighting to pass this vital legislation.
In June, Colorado and Vermont both used state American Rescue Plan funds to advance paid leave programs at the state level, setting a powerful example for other state and local governments.
In a unanimous decision, the Colorado Supreme Court – the highest court in the state – unanimously upheld the state’s paid family and medical leave law, which A Better Balance is proud to have helped pass, implement, and defend. We submitted an amicus brief to the Court in defense of the law.
Bloomington, MN’s City Council unanimously approved paid sick time legislation, joining the Minnesota cities of Minneapolis, Saint Paul, and Duluth in guaranteeing this critical right. A Better Balance has been proud to provide legal support to our partners in Minnesota over the years, including Take Action Minnesota and SEIU.
Additionally, San Francisco—the first locality in the United States to enact a paid sick leave law— approved a ballot initiative creating a permanent public health emergency leave policy.
On June 28th, A Better Balance joined the Congressional LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus for a briefing on the need for inclusive family definitions in supportive policies such as paid leave.
In addition to sending a letter to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer from 110+ New York faith leaders urging a vote on the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, we rallied and held a press conference outside of Leader Schumer’s NYC office alongside New York City advocacy groups, maternal health and faith leaders, and moms urging him to bring the bill to a vote.
A lower court judge in Michigan issued a promising ruling that restored the full right to earned paid sick time to workers across the State, despite the Legislature’s desperate efforts to weaken the protections afforded by the law, which we worked with the Michigan Time to Care Coalition to help research and draft.
In August, alongside our national and New York-based coalition partners, we ran a full-page ad in Newsday calling on Senate Majority Leader Schumer to bring the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act to a vote.
We submitted a comment to the U.S. Department of Education in response to its proposed rule praising the Department’s proposed rule for helpfully modernizing Title IX regulations affecting pregnant and parenting students.
We published in the New York Times a full-page open letter from 125 working mothers from 42 different states who have personally experienced pregnancy discrimination, demanding Senate Majority Leader Schumer pass the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act.
New York Governor Hochul signed S1958A/A8092B into law, marking an important step towards curtailing employers’ use of abusive attendance policies in the state.
In December, we held a rally on Capitol Hill alongside advocates and ABB Community Advocates who have personally experienced pregnancy discrimination to call for the passage of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act without delay.
We filed a charge with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) on behalf of our client, alleging that Walmart’s points-based absence control policy violates the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by punishing employees for taking legally-protected time off work to address their own serious health needs.
At the very end of 2022, Congress passed the omnibus spending package, which included the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act and PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act. Shortly thereafter, President Biden signed these bills into law. The PUMP Act’s expanded coverage took effect immediately.

2021

Starting in January, Colorado has provided workers in the state with access to additional emergency paid sick leave on top of the existing Colorado paid sick time law, which we helped draft and pass in 2020.
In February, the Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act—a package of legislation that would comprehensively address America’s Black maternal health crisis and promote justice for Black pregnant people and new mothers — was introduced to Congress. We were proud to support this critical legislation and join our partners including the National Birth Equity Collaborative and Black Mamas Matter Alliance who are leading this effort.
In February, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act was reintroduced to the House with bipartisan support.
On International Women’s Day, A Better Balance and our coalition partners were named finalists in the national multi-million dollar “Equality Can’t Wait Challenge,” for our proposal to expand Black women’s power and influence in the South. The Challenge, hosted by Pivotal Ventures, Melinda Gates’ investment and incubation company—with additional support from MacKenzie Scott and Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies, and managed by Lever for Change—was launched in June 2020 to accelerate the pace of progress toward gender equality in America.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo enacted a paid leave policy for New Yorkers to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, which includes up to four hours of paid leave for workers per dose of the vaccine. We’ve been advocating for paid vaccine leave nationwide, and are committed to empowering workers with knowledge of their rights to take time off to get vaccinated.
In March, ABB Co-President Dina Bakst testified before Congress urging them to remove barriers to justice for pregnant workers and mothers by immediately passing the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act and the PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act.
During National Women’s History Month, ABB Co-President Dina Bakst authored an op-ed for The Hill about the pressing need for supportive work-family policies like the American Rescue Plan and the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act.
The New Mexico Legislature passed a law based on our model bill guaranteeing private sector employees the right to up to 64 hours of paid sick time, becoming the 14th state to make the right to paid sick time a reality for workers.
Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer signed an ordinance into effect providing 12 weeks of paid parental leave to 5,000 municipal workers, a resolution we testified in support of.
On March 31st, President Biden announced the first part of his infrastructure plan, including $400 billion to support home and community-based services for those in need of long-term care, including seniors and people with disabilities.
In April, the Healthy Families Act (HFA), a bill that would create a national right to paid sick leave for workers to care for themselves or for a loved one, was reintroduced in Congress.
President Biden made history by including a comprehensive paid family and medical leave program with an inclusive family definition in the American Families Plan.
In April, the Washington State legislature passed a bill expanding their family definition under its state paid family and medical leave law.
In April, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act was introduced in the Senate with robust bipartisan support.
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp signed legislation to provide three weeks of paid parental leave for state employees, teachers, and certain school staff.
ABB Co-Presidents Dina Bakst and Sherry Leiwant penned an op-ed for The Hill emphasizing the urgent need for the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act.
During an ABB-led digital Week of Action urging the passage of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act leading up to Mother’s Day, our content was shared to a total of more than 7.2 million combined Twitter followers and more than 2.8 million Instagram followers.
As of May 2021, ABB had assisted over 3,000 people through our free and confidential legal helpline over the course of the pandemic.
In May, we gathered for our Spring Celebration to celebrate 15 years of advancing justice for workers and look to the road ahead as we discuss solutions to America’s care crisis.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act in an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote.
The Flexibility for Working Families Act, which would ensure that workers are able to request schedule modifications to balance the demands of their jobs and their home life without fear of retaliation, was introduced in Congress.
We co-hosted a congressional briefing about Black maternal health and the climate crisis to discuss how climate change impacts the health outcomes of pregnant women and their babies and uplift policy solutions such as the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act and the Protecting Moms and Babies Against Climate Change Act (H.R. 957).
As of June 2021, our COVID-19 tools and resources, including “know your rights” fact sheets on paid sick time, have been viewed on our website approximately 800,000 times.
In June, Massachusetts and Marin County, California enacted emergency paid sick leave laws in response to the pandemic.
In June, New York State passed a bill adding siblings as covered family members under the state paid family leave program, building upon the groundbreaking paid family leave law we fought tirelessly to pass in 2016.
During Pride Month, ABB participated in a Congressional Equality Caucus briefing to uplift paid family and medical leave policies with broad family recognition.
In June, we updated our May 2019 report, Long Overdue to reflect the urgent and continually growing need for the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act.
Governor John Bel Edwards signed the Louisiana Pregnant Workers Fairness Act into law in June, granting pregnant workers in the state an explicit right to accommodations.
In August, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act advanced in the Senate Health, Education, Labor, & Pensions (HELP) Committee with overwhelmingly bipartisan approval.
The Washington D.C. Council voted to approve several amendments to the District’s paid family and medical leave program, making paid leave more accessible to workers.
We joined Paid Leave For All’s cross-country bus tour in New York, D.C., and Colorado to raise awareness about the urgent need for federal paid family and medical leave.
In October, we sent a letter calling on Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to bring the federal Pregnant Workers Fairness Act to the Senate floor for a vote without delay alongside 27 other leading New York-based labor unions, workers’ rights groups, and health groups.
The PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act advanced in the House of Representatives, a critical step towards combating lactation discrimination in the workplace.
A Better Balance joined New York Governor Kathy Hochul in October as she signed into law a bill expanding New York’s landmark Paid Family Leave Law to include siblings as covered family members.
In November, Co-Founders and Co-Presidents Dina Bakst and Sherry Leiwant were awarded the Heinz Award for the Economy—one of the world’s largest and most prestigious individual achievement awards—for A Better Balance’s outstanding policy and advocacy impact.
The House of Representatives passed the Build Back Better Act, including a landmark four weeks of paid family and medical leave and important investments and support for childcare infrastructure and home-based care services.
In November, Congress introduced the Protecting America’s Meatpacking Workers Act, a package of legislation to ensure dignity, safety and respect for meatpacking workers by guaranteeing access to bathroom breaks, reasonable limits on line speeds, and fairer attendance policies in meatpacking plants.
We joined elected officials, leaders in labor, business, entertainment, and the community, religious leaders, and hundreds of workers and caregivers from across New York in sending a letter to Senate Majority Leader Schumer urging him to ensure paid family and medical leave remains part of the Build Back Better Act.
In December, many workers in Allegheny County gained a right to paid sick leave. A Better Balance was thrilled to work with advocates on this new law’s passage.

2020

TIME Magazine just included A Better Balance and our Co-Founder and Co-President Dina Bakst on a list of “16 People and Groups Fighting for a More Equal America.”
The PUMP (Providing Urgent Maternal Protections) for Nursing Mothers Act, which would close loopholes in the Federal Labor Standards Act’s provision requiring that employers provide break time and space to nursing workers, was introduced in Congress for the first time and has bipartisan support.
For the first time, a caregiver discrimination bill was introduced in Congress.
A Better Balance filed several charges against Walmart with the EEOC on behalf of our clients in 2017 following the release of our report, Pointing Out: How Walmart Unlawfully Punishes Workers for Medical Absences, which was featured in the New York Times. The EEOC launched a systemic investigation lasting years and in 2020 issued a determination finding probable cause that Walmart’s attendance policy violated the rights of Walmart workers under the ADA, as described in ABB’s Pointing Out
ABB mobilizes quickly to respond to the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to developing model legislation for COVID-19 paid leave, ABB researched, drafted, and disseminate a number of tools and resources, including dozens of national fact sheets and reports and 32 jurisdiction-specific “know your rights” fact sheets on paid sick time and COVID-19. These tools and resources, including FAQs specifically for pregnant workers, have been viewed on our website approximately 400,000 times. ABB staff members have also hosted and presented on more than 35 COVID-19 related webinars attended by approximately 7,700 individuals.
As of October, 2020, ABB had assisted over 2,000 people through our free and confidential legal helpline over the course of the pandemic.
Congress passes the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), which for the first time in history, guarantees covered workers paid sick time—through the end of 2020—to care for themselves or their family members when impacted by COVID-19. We worked hard with partners and key lawmakers to ensure the FFCRA was as strong and comprehensive as possible, and we continue to advocate on behalf of legislation to close the law’s gaps and create a permanent federal right to paid leave.
A Better Balance helped lead efforts in support of successful passage of a permanent paid sick time right in New York State, recognizing the fact that workers need paid sick time whenever they or a family member are ill.
New Mexico and Virginia became the 28^th and 29^th states in the country to provide an explicit right to pregnancy accommodations, after ABB’s support in coalition with partners.
A federal court granted final approval to a $14 million settlement in the matter of Borders v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.—a nationwide class action lawsuit we filed with Co-Counsel Mehri & Skalet, PLLC and the National Women’s Law Center. The settlement pays for claims by pregnant workers that they had requested but were denied workplace accommodations at Walmart between March 19, 2013 and March 5, 2014.
Colorado became the 13th state to enact a permanent right to paid sick leave! The groundbreaking law, will provide a right to paid sick time to all workers in the state, regardless of industry or business size. A Better Balance’s staff in Colorado played a key, leading role in drafting the legislation and efforts on the ground to secure its passage.
With our support and technical assistance, advocates pass COVID-19 emergency leave measures in New Jersey, New York, Colorado, Philadelphia, and multiple cities in California. ABB has also drafted and provided technical support regarding COVID-19 paid leave bills in more than 40 cities and states.
After six years of tireless advocacy by a coalition led by ABB, the Tennessee Pregnant Workers Fairness Act passed unanimously, becoming the 30^th state in the country to provide stronger legal protections for pregnant workers in need of reasonable accommodations.
Georgia and South Carolina pass legislation to benefit nursing mothers in the workplace.
Senator Warren launched a Congressional inquiry about abusive employer attendance policies after learning about the harmful impact that “no fault” attendance policies at major companies have on low-wage workers in A Better Balance’s new report, Misled & Misinformed.
In September, the House PASSED the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, which would guarantee pregnant workers fair and equal protections under the law, in an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote. Every Democrat and a majority of Republicans voted yes. ABB was proud to lead the way on this historic vote, testifying before Congress, leading negotiations, and lifting up the voices of the brave women who have fought with us for this progress for nearly eight years.
The Minnesota Supreme Court upholds Minneapolis’ paid sick time law, after years of litigation that ABB worked on with our partners in Minnesota.

2019

New Jersey passses a broad expansion to its paid family and medical leave law, providing more time and pay to workers and adopting ABB’s model for an inclusive family definition.
Following our filing of a class action lawsuit, Walmart announced changes to its attendance policy that provide greater protection to pregnant workers. (However, there is still more enforcement work to be done to ensure the policy fully protects the rights of all workers.)
The federal Family and Medical Insurance Leave (FAMILY) Act is reintroduced in Congress.
Kentucky becomes the 25th state guaranteeing pregnant workers an explicit right to reasonable accommodations.
The federal Healthy Families Act, which would provide U.S. workers with a right to paid sick time, is reintroduced in Congress.
Dallas passes a paid sick time law, becoming the third jurisdiction in Texas to do so.
ABB releases policy brief State of Our State: Women in the Workforce—released jointly with ThinkTennessee–highlighting the systemic barriers in Tennessee that prevent women, especially women of color and mothers, from achieving economic security.
ABB publishes a report, Long Overdue, with new findings about how our federal laws are failing to prevent pregnancy discrimination, and calling for a federal fix through the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act.
The federal Pregnant Workers Fairness Act is re-introduced in Congress.
Maine becomes the first state in the country to require general paid time off for workers. We worked to ensure this unique law is available for sick time and protects workers from retaliation.
Oregon passes the nation’s 26th law guaranteeing pregnant workers an explicit right to reasonable accommodations.
Connecticut passes the nation’s eighth paid family and medical leave law, adopting ABB’s model for an inclusive family definition.
New York passes a sweeping set of gender equity measures, including stronger equal pay, sexual harassment, and breastfeeding protections.
ABB releases an update to our comprehensive New York Working Women’s Pocket Guide.
Oregon passes the nation’s ninth paid family and medical leave law, with full wage replacement for low-wage workers and our model for an inclusive family definition.
Colorado establishes a paid family and medical leave insurance task force with representation from ABB staff.
The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania upholds the city of Pittsburgh’s authority to enact a paid sick time law, recognizing the importance of paid sick time in promoting public health.
Maine passes the nation’s 27th law guaranteeing pregnant workers an explicit right to reasonable accommodations.
ABB joins a coalition of advocates in Colorado to successfully reform the state’s minimum wage and overtime regulations.
Former ABB client Theresa Gonzales shares her story of being terminated just days after giving birth in a New York Times piece about the scarcity of protections for pregnant workers and new parents in the South.
New York State releases report showing the success of New York’s groundbreaking Paid Family Leave law—which ABB played a key role in passing—in its first year.
ABB releases Know Your Rights guide for dads and male caregivers in New York.
ABB holds a Congressional briefing on the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. ABB Community Advocate Natasha Jackson shares her story.
The New York Times publishes our Letter to the Editor on why the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act will increase women’s labor force participation in the South.
ABB Co-President Dina Bakst testifies before Congress to call for the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, highlighting the stories of women across the country who were forced to choose between their job and a healthy pregnancy.
Five cities in Georgia join Atlanta in passing LGBTQ-inclusive nondiscrimination ordinances.
The federal Schedules that Work Act, which would put a stop to abusive scheduling practices, is introduced.
ABB hosts panel at NYU Law School with Congressman Jerrold Nadler, champion of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, on eradicating pregnancy discrimination and other barriers to workplace gender equity.
Paid Leave for All, the largest-ever campaign to pass an inclusive, national paid family and medical leave policies, launches, with ABB as one of the leading members.

2018

New York’s groundbreaking Paid Family Leave Law begins providing benefits to millions of New Yorkers.
ABB launches a website and booklet, The Working Women’s Pocket Guide, a step-by-step guide to New York employment rights and protections.
Maryland becomes 9th state to guarantee paid sick days.
ABB releases new report, A Foundation and a Blueprint, in honor of the 25th anniversary of the Family and Medical Leave Act.
Austin, TX, becomes first southern city to pass paid sick time law.
Massachusetts’ Pregnant Workers Fairness Act goes into effect, legislation that ABB played a key role in drafting and advancing.
ABB stands in solidarity with warehouse workers at a national logistics company in Memphis, TN, challenging workplace conditions and harassment.
New Jersey becomes 10th state to pass the Earned Sick and Safe Days Act.
New York City’s expanded paid sick time law takes effect.
ABB and the Family Justice Network release a new report, Recognizing All Families to Expand Our Movements: Insights from the Family Justice Network.
Massachusetts passes groundbreaking paid family and medical leave law that ABB played an integral role in drafting and advancing.
ABB and clients featured in widely discussed New York Times cover story on pregnancy discrimination, Pregnancy Discrimination Is Rampant Inside America’s Biggest Companies
ABB joins Emery Celli Brinckerhoff & Adaby as co-counsel in a pregnancy discrimination case against MoMA PS1.
South Carolina becomes the 23^rd state to pass a Pregnant Worker Fairness Act.
ABB files a class-action lawsuit in New York state court alleging Walmart’s “no-fault” absence control policy discriminates against pregnant workers.
ABB launches Constructing 21st Century Rights For A Changing Workforce, a series of policy briefs analyzing key issues in covering non-standard and precarious workers under paid leave laws. Brief 1: Paid Family and Medical Leave & The Self-Employed, Brief 2: Paid Family and Medical Leave & Nonstandard Employees.
ABB files a lawsuit in New York state court against a donut shop for discriminating against a pregnant employee.
San Antonio, TX, becomes the second Texas city to pass a paid sick time law.
ABB, in partnership with WorkLife Law, publishes a state-by-state guide on workplace rights for nursing mothers, Talking to Your Boss About Your Pump.
Michigan passes Earned Paid Sick Time law.
California expands its paid leave law to provide paid benefits to workers so they can take time off to address needs arising out of their loved one’s military service.
Westchester County, NY, passes. paid sick time law.
ABB publishes a report, For the Health of Our Families: Engaging the Health Community in Paid Family Leave Outreach and Education.
ABB and the New York City Bar sponsor a panel, The Pregnancy Discrimination Act at 40 and the Continued Role of Lawyers.
A national logistics company changed its policy around pregnancy accommodations, following months of public and legal pressure, including from our former client in Memphis, Tennessee, Tasha Murrell.
ABB expands its geographical reach and on-the-ground presence with staff in Colorado.

2017

ABB files charge alleging caregiver discrimination against New York City Department of Information Technology & Telecommunications on behalf of single mother.
Georgia passes the Family Care Act, which allows workers in Georgia who receive paid sick days to use that time to care for their family members in addition to themselves.
ABB along with the National Women’s Law Center and Mehri & Skalet, and Sedey Harper & Westhoff file nationwide class-action lawsuit against Walmart for failure to accommodate pregnant workers.
ABB publishes report “Pointing Out: How Walmart Unlawfully Punishes Workers for Medical Absences,” which was featured in the New York Times.
Nashville, TN, passes paid family leave for Nashville Municipal Workers.
ABB files additional charges of disability discrimination against Walmart following “Pointing Out” report.
Massachusetts passes Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, becoming the 22nd state with explicit protections for pregnant workers.
Rhode Island becomes the 8th state to pass a state-wide paid sick days law drafted by ABB.
ABB joins the first New York State Council on women and girls.
ABB launches “Family Leave Works” campaign to raise awareness of New York’s groundbreaking paid family leave law, including a new website.
ABB supports “Work Strong Austin” as it launches a campaign to pass earned sick time in Austin.
Washington State passed a paid family and medical leave law.
New York City expands its paid sick time law to include a broader definition of family members for whom New York workers can take sick leave and to cover safe time, protections for workers dealing with the effects of domestic violence, sexual abuse, and stalking.
Walmart updates its pregnancy accommodation policy.
A Better Balance, the National Women’s Law Center, and Mehri & Skalet, LLC file, on behalf of Whitney Tomlinson, an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charge against Walmart alleging pregnancy discrimination.

2016

ABB helps to usher in landmark victory as New York passes the strongest paid family leave law in the nation.
ABB marks its 10th Anniversary with a policy conference at New York University and release of report, Moving Families Forward: Reflections on a Decade of Change.
New York City guarantees six weeks of paid parental leave to city employees and enacts a law to prevent all employers from discriminating based on a worker’s status as a family caregiver.
Utah and Colorado enact pregnant workers fairness laws.
ABB honored to be included in Nashville Council on Gender Equality.
Millions of workers in Los Angeles, San Diego, and Santa Monica, CA; in Minneapolis, MN; Spokane, WA; Plainfield, NJ; and in the state of Vermont gain new paid sick time rights.
The U.S. Department of Justice and the City of Florence, KY, reach a groundbreaking agreement in response to ABB case filed on behalf of two police officers, Officers Lyndi Trischler and Samantha Riley, who faced pregnancy discrimination on the job.
OxFam, with guidance from ABB, releases report about women working in the poultry industry, Women on the Line: A review of workplace gender issues in the US poultry industry.
ABB successfully helps to defend a ballot initiative we drafted guaranteeing all Arizona workers paid sick time resulting in its placement on the ballot and an overwhelming victory for the policy.
ABB releases new report, “Making Paid Leave Work for Every Family,” co-authored with Center for American Progress, Forward Together, and Family Values @ Work.
With tireless legal support from ABB staff, Washington, DC, passes paid family and medical leave.

2015

ABB marks first anniversary of New York City Earned Sick Time Act, and celebrates distributing more than 10,000 copies of educational materials and fielding more than 175 calls from New Yorkers seeking information and help enforcing their rights.
ABB co-founders, Dina Bakst and Sherry Leiwant, awarded the 16th Annual Edith Spivak Award by the New York County Lawyer’s Association, for their efforts to defend and protect the rights of thousands of women.
ABB releases Investing in our Families, a report on the case for paid family leave.
With 24/7 support from ABB, Oregon becomes fourth state to enact paid sick days law. Five more cities, including Philadelphia, and one county, also join the movement using ABB’s model.
Nebraska, North Dakota, and Rhode Island enact pregnant worker fairness laws.
Key measures pushed by ABB to advance women’s equality pass in New York, including measures to promote equal pay and combat pregnancy and family status discrimination.

2014

ABB plays an integral role in strengthening and expanding New York City’s paid sick time law.
California, Massachusetts, San Diego, and Oakland, CA, and seven cities in New Jersey enact paid sick time laws, using ABB’s model. ABB provides critical legal support in the Massachusetts ballot initiative that passes overwhelmingly, making it the third state to enact a paid sick time law.
ABB opens southern office in Nashville, TN.
Under pressure from ABB and partners, Walmart upgrades policy for pregnant workers.
Feminist Press publishes second edition of Babygate, and ABB launches website version to break down the pregnancy and parenting laws in an easy-to-use, state-by-state, searchable format.
ABB co-authors a friend-of-the-court brief in the U.S. Supreme Court supporting former UPS worker Peggy Young in her fight for pregnancy accommodations.
ABB helps five states and four cities enact pregnant worker fairness laws.
ABB launches LGBTQ Work-Family Project with Family Values @ Work.
ABB releases report on the Pregnancy Penalty, which is featured on MSNBC.
ABB worked with other national and state partners to draft the “Schedules that Work Act,” to address abusive scheduling practices. The bill is introduced in Congress with a thank you to ABB.

2013

ABB is one of three organizations at the table to negotiate the New York City Earned Sick Time Act. The City Council overwhelmingly passes the bill and overrides the Mayor’s veto to provide an entitlement to paid sick time for 3.4 million working New Yorkers.
ABB publishes Babygate, the first-of-its-kind national guide for expecting and new parents about their workplace rights.
ABB’s advocacy on pregnancy accommodations, family status discrimination, and equal pay featured in New York Women’s Equality Agenda.
ABB issues a report on pregnancy discrimination with the National Women’s Law Center, It Shouldn’t be a Heavy Lift: Fair Treatment for Pregnant Workers.
Rhode Island passes paid family leave bill, making it the third state in the country to guarantee paid time off for family care.
ABB advises San Francisco in passage of law enabling caregivers to request flexible schedules without retaliation.
ABB issues a report on LGBT rights and paid leave laws, entitled Time for a Change: The Case for LGBT-Inclusive Workplace Leave Laws & Nondiscrimination Protections.
ABB spearheads successful campaign to make New York City the first to enact fairness for pregnant workers.
With critical help from ABB, Portland, OR; Jersey City, NJ; and SeaTac, WA, pass paid sick days laws.

2012

Dina Bakst’s Jan. 30 op-ed in the New York Times launches national movement to pass pregnancy accommodation laws, and spurs introduction of the federal Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, which ABB helped to draft.
ABB and coalition partners re-launch campaign for paid sick days in New York City.
ABB collects more than 11,000 signatures for paid family leave in New York and delivers stories from constituents to Albany legislators, urging action.

2011

ABB provides legal support to successful campaign for paid sick days in Seattle, WA, making it the third city in the country to enact paid sick days.
Milwaukee paid sick days challenge is won with ABB’s legal help, although a statewide preemption law is passed to overrule the Wisconsin courts and Milwaukee’s voters.
ABB releases report based on original data to examine the work-family challenges facing fathers.
ABB files friend-of-the-court brief in California Court of Appeals supporting state kincare law, which is ultimately upheld.

2010

ABB receives inaugural Outten & Golden Public Interest Award, in recognition and support of our work advancing the rights of workers.
New York State Domestic Workers Bill of Rights passes with support from ABB, which testified and advocated on behalf of the bill.
ABB helps to convene summit on work-family solutions for New England and publishes summit report, A Work-Family Agenda for New England & the Nation.

2009

ABB drafts New York City Earned Sick Time Act and rallies with supporters as it is introduced at the City Council for the first time.
ABB assists in legal defense of Milwaukee paid sick days law.
ABB launches Families @ Work Legal Clinic in partnership with Outten & Golden, to assist low-income New Yorkers with workplace problems related to pregnancy and caregiving.

2008

New Jersey becomes second state to enact paid family leave.
Washington, DC, enacts paid sick days law, and Milwaukee voters approve paid sick days proposal drafted by ABB.

2007

ABB convenes national experts for work-family summit and releases Summit Report: The Work-Family Dilemma: Policy Solutions for All New Yorkers.

2006

A Better Balance (ABB) is founded.
San Francisco voters pass first paid sick days law in the country.