Family-Friendly Workplaces Create a Stronger California

A new mother is told she will be fired if she does not return to work when her baby is just six weeks old. A retail worker struggles to find child care because her schedule is erratic and changes with little notice. A grandson is denied time off to care for his dying grandmother.  Thankfully, a group of legislators in California has proposed a package of bills that would help families avoid these unbearable situations.

Most children today live in households where all parents work, and one-third of families with children are headed by single parents. More and more people find themselves in the “sandwich generation,” caring for elderly parents and young children while trying to hold down a job. The balancing act can be impossible, forcing people to choose between caring for their children and loved ones and keeping the jobs that allow them to support their families.

Imagine being told that you would be fired if you took time off from work to help your newly adopted foster children deal with severe trauma and settle in to their new home. Sabrina did not have to imagine – it happened to her.

Sabrina was working as an accounting assistant when she got some terrible news: a car accident had killed her husband’s father and niece, leaving her husband’s three nephews – aged ten, eight and seven – without anyone to care for them.

Sabrina and her husband decided to adopt the boys, knowing there would be challenges considering the trauma they had experienced and the fact that two of the boys have cognitive disabilities. So she told her employer that she would apply for Paid Family Leave to bond with the children and help them adjust to their new environment. Sabrina’s employer refused to approve her leave and told her – in no uncertain terms – that she would lose her job if she took the time she needed. Sabrina felt she had no choice but to take leave to care for her new sons. When she did, she was fired.

California’s Paid Family Leave (PFL) program was the first in the nation to provide wage replacement for up to six weeks of leave for workers to bond with a new child, including adopted or foster children, or to care for an ill loved one. PFL means that workers can have partial income while they are caring for their family. But, current law only protects the jobs of people who take PFL at businesses with 50 or more employees. Because Sabrina’s employer had 30 employees, she did not qualify for job protected leave.

SB 406 (Jackson) would fix the problem by ensuring that more employees can use their PFL benefits without fear of losing their jobs, including those who work for an employer with 25 or more employees and those caring for a seriously ill grandparent, grandchild, sibling, parent in law or adult child.

PFL was groundbreaking and is vital to many families welcoming a new child or caring for a loved one. But many do not take PFL because, at 55%, the wage replacement level is too low for them to be able to afford to take time away from their jobs. This is especially unjust because the program is entirely funded through worker paycheck deductions. Making ends meet on minimum wage is difficult enough, let alone trying to survive on about half that amount. AB 908 (Gomez) would increase the wage replacement rate for low-wage workers, making this program more accessible to those who earn the least. The bill would also increase the amount of paid leave available from six to ten weeks per year.

In addition, many parents risk losing their jobs when they face a child care emergency such as the unforeseen unavailability of a child care provider or a temporary school closure. SB 579 (Jackson) would increase job protection for California parents, allowing parents to take time off from work to find and enroll their children in child care or school and to care for their children during an emergency.

Even without a child care or caregiving crisis, many low wage workers face challenges every day due to volatile scheduling practices. Many have little advance notice of when they will be required to work, making things like planning for child care, budgeting for groceries and scheduling doctor’s appointments nearly impossible. Forty-seven percent of hourly workers know their schedules one week or less in advance. AB 357 (Chiu and Weber) would remedy this problem by requiring food and retail establishments with more than 500 employees to have fair scheduling practices, helping ensure stability for a vast segment of California’s workforce.

California has an opportunity to act now to expand access to paid family leave, implement fair work schedules and allow parents to care for their children without risking their jobs. SB 406, SB 579, AB 908 and AB 357 would make it easier for all workers, but especially those in low-wage jobs, to meet their obligations at home and work – thereby strengthening families, workplaces and communities.  Contact your legislators and urge their support of working families.[:es]

A new mother is told she will be fired if she does not return to work when her baby is just six weeks old. A retail worker struggles to find child care because her schedule is erratic and changes with little notice. A grandson is denied time off to care for his dying grandmother.  Thankfully, a group of legislators in California has proposed a package of bills that would help families avoid these unbearable situations.

Most children today live in households where all parents work, and one-third of families with children are headed by single parents. More and more people find themselves in the “sandwich generation,” caring for elderly parents and young children while trying to hold down a job. The balancing act can be impossible, forcing people to choose between caring for their children and loved ones and keeping the jobs that allow them to support their families.

Imagine being told that you would be fired if you took time off from work to help your newly adopted foster children deal with severe trauma and settle in to their new home. Sabrina did not have to imagine – it happened to her. 

Sabrina was working as an accounting assistant when she got some terrible news: a car accident had killed her husband’s father and niece, leaving her husband’s three nephews – aged ten, eight and seven – without anyone to care for them.

Sabrina and her husband decided to adopt the boys, knowing there would be challenges considering the trauma they had experienced and the fact that two of the boys have cognitive disabilities. So she told her employer that she would apply for Paid Family Leave to bond with the children and help them adjust to their new environment. Sabrina’s employer refused to approve her leave and told her – in no uncertain terms – that she would lose her job if she took the time she needed. Sabrina felt she had no choice but to take leave to care for her new sons. When she did, she was fired.

California’s Paid Family Leave (PFL) program was the first in the nation to provide wage replacement for up to six weeks of leave for workers to bond with a new child, including adopted or foster children, or to care for an ill loved one. PFL means that workers can have partial income while they are caring for their family. But, current law only protects the jobs of people who take PFL at businesses with 50 or more employees. Because Sabrina’s employer had 30 employees, she did not qualify for job protected leave.

SB 406 (Jackson) would fix the problem by ensuring that more employees can use their PFL benefits without fear of losing their jobs, including those who work for an employer with 25 or more employees and those caring for a seriously ill grandparent, grandchild, sibling, parent in law or adult child.

PFL was groundbreaking and is vital to many families welcoming a new child or caring for a loved one. But many do not take PFL because, at 55%, the wage replacement level is too low for them to be able to afford to take time away from their jobs. This is especially unjust because the program is entirely funded through worker paycheck deductions. Making ends meet on minimum wage is difficult enough, let alone trying to survive on about half that amount. AB 908 (Gomez) would increase the wage replacement rate for low-wage workers, making this program more accessible to those who earn the least. The bill would also increase the amount of paid leave available from six to ten weeks per year.

In addition, many parents risk losing their jobs when they face a child care emergency such as the unforeseen unavailability of a child care provider or a temporary school closure. SB 579 (Jackson) would increase job protection for California parents, allowing parents to take time off from work to find and enroll their children in child care or school and to care for their children during an emergency.

Even without a child care or caregiving crisis, many low wage workers face challenges every day due to volatile scheduling practices. Many have little advance notice of when they will be required to work, making things like planning for child care, budgeting for groceries and scheduling doctor’s appointments nearly impossible. Forty-seven percent of hourly workers know their schedules one week or less in advance. AB 357 (Chiu and Weber) would remedy this problem by requiring food and retail establishments with more than 500 employees to have fair scheduling practices, helping ensure stability for a vast segment of California’s workforce.

California has an opportunity to act now to expand access to paid family leave, implement fair work schedules and allow parents to care for their children without risking their jobs. SB 406, SB 579, AB 908 and AB 357 would make it easier for all workers, but especially those in low-wage jobs, to meet their obligations at home and work – thereby strengthening families, workplaces and communities.  Contact your legislators and urge their support of working families.

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A new mother is told she will be fired if she does not return to work when her baby is just six weeks old. A retail worker struggles to find child care because her schedule is erratic and changes with little notice. A grandson is denied time off to care for his dying grandmother.  Thankfully, a group of legislators in California has proposed a package of bills that would help families avoid these unbearable situations.

Most children today live in households where all parents work, and one-third of families with children are headed by single parents. More and more people find themselves in the “sandwich generation,” caring for elderly parents and young children while trying to hold down a job. The balancing act can be impossible, forcing people to choose between caring for their children and loved ones and keeping the jobs that allow them to support their families.

Imagine being told that you would be fired if you took time off from work to help your newly adopted foster children deal with severe trauma and settle in to their new home. Sabrina did not have to imagine – it happened to her. 

Sabrina was working as an accounting assistant when she got some terrible news: a car accident had killed her husband’s father and niece, leaving her husband’s three nephews – aged ten, eight and seven – without anyone to care for them.

Sabrina and her husband decided to adopt the boys, knowing there would be challenges considering the trauma they had experienced and the fact that two of the boys have cognitive disabilities. So she told her employer that she would apply for Paid Family Leave to bond with the children and help them adjust to their new environment. Sabrina’s employer refused to approve her leave and told her – in no uncertain terms – that she would lose her job if she took the time she needed. Sabrina felt she had no choice but to take leave to care for her new sons. When she did, she was fired.

California’s Paid Family Leave (PFL) program was the first in the nation to provide wage replacement for up to six weeks of leave for workers to bond with a new child, including adopted or foster children, or to care for an ill loved one. PFL means that workers can have partial income while they are caring for their family. But, current law only protects the jobs of people who take PFL at businesses with 50 or more employees. Because Sabrina’s employer had 30 employees, she did not qualify for job protected leave.

SB 406 (Jackson) would fix the problem by ensuring that more employees can use their PFL benefits without fear of losing their jobs, including those who work for an employer with 25 or more employees and those caring for a seriously ill grandparent, grandchild, sibling, parent in law or adult child.

PFL was groundbreaking and is vital to many families welcoming a new child or caring for a loved one. But many do not take PFL because, at 55%, the wage replacement level is too low for them to be able to afford to take time away from their jobs. This is especially unjust because the program is entirely funded through worker paycheck deductions. Making ends meet on minimum wage is difficult enough, let alone trying to survive on about half that amount. AB 908 (Gomez) would increase the wage replacement rate for low-wage workers, making this program more accessible to those who earn the least. The bill would also increase the amount of paid leave available from six to ten weeks per year.

In addition, many parents risk losing their jobs when they face a child care emergency such as the unforeseen unavailability of a child care provider or a temporary school closure. SB 579 (Jackson) would increase job protection for California parents, allowing parents to take time off from work to find and enroll their children in child care or school and to care for their children during an emergency.

Even without a child care or caregiving crisis, many low wage workers face challenges every day due to volatile scheduling practices. Many have little advance notice of when they will be required to work, making things like planning for child care, budgeting for groceries and scheduling doctor’s appointments nearly impossible. Forty-seven percent of hourly workers know their schedules one week or less in advance. AB 357 (Chiu and Weber) would remedy this problem by requiring food and retail establishments with more than 500 employees to have fair scheduling practices, helping ensure stability for a vast segment of California’s workforce.

California has an opportunity to act now to expand access to paid family leave, implement fair work schedules and allow parents to care for their children without risking their jobs. SB 406, SB 579, AB 908 and AB 357 would make it easier for all workers, but especially those in low-wage jobs, to meet their obligations at home and work – thereby strengthening families, workplaces and communities.  Contact your legislators and urge their support of working families.

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