June 23, 2006
Agriculture Official Has Little Time for Flexible Scheduling
"An Agriculture Department undersecretary has canceled certain alternative work schedules for management officials in St. Louis and Washington and told the affected employees to plan on working a traditional eight-hour, five-day-per-week schedule.”
Time Off, With Pay?
"The Massachusetts legislature plans to vote this week on a bill that would give all employees in the state 12 weeks of paid medical leave annually--100% of their pay up to $750 a week and a guarantee to hold their jobs--to care for newborns or sick relatives. If passed, the bill would mandate the most generous paid-leave policy in the U.S.; it is the first of 24 similar proposals pending this year. Family friendly and popular with female voters, most of the bills are enjoying wide, bipartisan support, says Debra Ness, president of the National Partnership for Women & Families.”
Women Lawyers Still See Bias, Study Reveals
“Missouri law firms are making progress in their treatment of women, but almost 40 percent of respondents in a state survey of female lawyers say they are still seeing discriminatory and inappropriate behavior by their male colleagues.” Mentions Joan Williams.
Breast-Feed or Else
"Child-rearing experts have long pointed to the benefits of breast-feeding. But critics say the new campaign has taken things too far and will make mothers who cannot breast-feed, or choose not to, feel guilty and inadequate…Moreover, urging women to breast-feed exclusively is a tall order in a country where more than 60 percent of mothers of very young children work, federal law requires large companies to provide only 12 weeks' unpaid maternity leave and lactation leave is unheard of.” Mentions Ellen Galinsky.