With high unemployment and a severe jobs shortfall increasingly threatening the economic security of North Carolina’s working families, it is imperative that state leaders develop policies that not only create jobs but also sustain employment. A new report by the North Carolina Justice Center, a member of Family Values @ Work, provides a snapshot of caregivers and working families in North Carolina and offers a roadmap to policies that support families’ economic security in uncertain times.
The report highlights low-income workers’ disparities in access to such important workplace protections as paid sick days and paid family leave. For instance, only 30.5 percent of private-sector workers in North Carolina earning less than $25,000 per year and only one in four workers in such low-wage industries as hospitality and construction have access to paid sick days. Workers at different income scales may experience work-family conflict in distinct ways, but it is clear that all workers need more realistic work-family policies.
To read more about the state of North Carolina’s caregivers and working families and the potential impact of such realistic and overdue policies as paid sick days, family leave insurance, workplace flexibility and protection from caregiver discrimination, check out the report: http://www.ncjustice.org/?q=node/1051
