FamilyValues@Work.org

Ask Manuel Acevedo what it means not to have job-guaranteed paid sick days and he’ll tell you: it hurts individual health, it hurts the public, and it costs jobs. Manuel drove a van for elderly and disabled passengers in Boston, MA, so they could get to doctor appointments or the grocery store. He loved his [...]

After six years of struggle by Domestic Workers United and their allies, the New York State Senate on June 1 passed the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights by a vote of 33-28. The bill requires overtime pay after eight-hour workdays and at least one day off weekly for more than 200,000 housekeepers, nannies and other [...]

It’s bad enough to have the flu. But turns out the flu also significantly compromises the immune system, making flu patients more vulnerable to pneumonia. We saw the worst case scenario of this last year: of those who died from H1N1, most had a combination of flu and bacterial pneumonia. A new study, published in [...]

Supporters of the Paid Sick Time Act in New York City held a spirited rally May 11 and then packed the City Council Chambers for a hearing on the bill. Rally speakers included representatives from Gay Men’s Health Crisis, the Women’s Chamber of Commerce, labor, a restaurant owner, a former chef from Make the Road [...]

Via Washington Policy Watch: Public News Service notes the irony: Over the weekend, working moms might have been treated to cards, flowers and even breakfast in bed. But today, life is back to normal – and for Washington women, that means earning less per hour on the job and receiving fewer workplace benefits than men. [...]

Via Washington Policy Watch: When citizen delegates from Washington State converged in Washington DC to urge their representatives to take action on paid family leave and paid sick days, Selena Allen of Tacoma (whose story EOI has profiled before), and EOI Policy Director Marilyn Watkins were interviewed by NPR reporter Jennifer Ludden: For millions of [...]

The breadth of our movement was on display in Washington, DC April 26-27 as Family Values @ Work and the National Partnership for Women & Families co-sponsored “Making It Work,” a conference and day of action on paid sick days and paid family leave. More than 200 activists, researchers, funders, and policymakers gathered to strategize [...]

By ELLEN BRAVO We’ve been bombarded with ads promising the perfect gift for Mom, from chocolates and flowers to iPhones. Here’s my list of what mothers want: The right to care for a sick child or personal illness without losing her job or creating a public health hazard. I start with paid sick days as [...]

Check out this new policy resource from Family Values @ Work: Our Economy Needs Family Values at Work Now More Than Ever. It’s a great resource to use with policy makers and business owners because it gives the facts on how not having paid sick days and family leave insurance policies negatively affects our economy, [...]

Family Values @ Work executive director, Ellen Bravo, had a letter to the editor in the New York Times about the importance of paid sick days in protecting public health during a crisis like the H1N1 epidemic. Ellen’s letter was in response to an article by Richard P. Wenzel, a specialist in infectious disease.