April 25, 2008.
The Workplace Flexibility 2010 News Roundup is a compilation of the latest news articles, reports and other materials related to workplace flexibility. The News Roundup appears twice-weekly. If you have questions about any of the items, please contact WF2010@law.georgetown.edu.
Articles
Are You a Victim of Maternal Profiling?
"Currently, under Pennsylvania law, it's not illegal for employers to ask whether or not you have children if you ask that question of all applicants," says Michael Hardiman, chief counsel for The Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission. Basically, as long as employers can prove that they ask both men and women equally if they are married or have children, they are not doing anything illegal. If they discriminate against women, that is, of course, against the law. The Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 makes clear that discrimination on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions constitutes unlawful sex discrimination under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. But many mothers say it should be against the law for employers to even ask the question of anyone during a job interview.” In conjunction with this article, ABC World News tonight (April 25, 2008) with Charles Gibson will feature a segment on maternal profiling.
Take Two on Time Off
“This year marks the 15th anniversary of the landmark Family and Medical Leave Act, which made it possible for many workers to take unpaid job-protected time off to care for their newborn children or sick relatives. But instead of celebrating, workers' rights advocates and the Bush administration are battling over what would be the most sweeping revisions ever to the law….These and other proposed changes have set off a fierce debate. More than 4,000 comments were submitted to the Labor Department as of Friday, April 11, the deadline for the public to weigh in. They came from labor unions, religious organizations, women's rights groups, small and large business owners and employees across the country."
Working from Home Great for Moms
“The dream of working from home is one that many of us share. No commute. No fancy business attire. No makeup. No pricey lunches. The flexibility sounds heavenly to some. And employers have gotten hip to this: Telecommuting, a benefit that allows employees to work from home one day a week or more, has grown in popularity. In 1999, only 18 of Fortune's list of best companies to work for offered telecommuting. Today, 79 do. (Incidentally, all 100 of "Working Mother" magazine's best companies offer some form of telecommuting as well.) As the business world recognizes that some workers, especially women, would welcome the chance to work from home full time -- which isn't usually possible with traditional employment -- a new crop of companies has emerged, focusing on home-based customer service agents.”
Mom Fights for Law Against 'Maternal Profiling'
"Federal laws prohibit discrimination based on sex, age, race, religion, national origin and disabilities, but not marital or family status. Pennsylvania is not the only state where questions about marital and family status are allowed. In 28 states it is legal for interviewers to ask job applicants questions about their marital status, family plans and caregiving responsibilities. Neighboring states New York, New Jersey and Maryland are among the 22 states that have laws making such questioning illegal.…Peppard has been advocating for a change for more than 10 years. In 2006, a newspaper article featuring Peppard spawned the phrase "maternal profiling," a phrase that had such resonance that it became a buzz word of 2007, according to lexicographer Grant Barrett. Maternal profiling made an appearance in this presidential campaign, when Hillary Clinton pledged in January to tackle it.”
Blogs
Opting In: To Work or Not To Work is NOT the Question
"In her new book Opting In: Having a Child Without Losing Yourself, Amy Richards explores the tricky landscape of motherhood in the 21st Century. Richards, age 38, who is the mother of two young boys, is a well-known feminist and a leader in the Third Wave movement. She is also is the cofounder of Soapbox, a progressive speakers bureau. I recently caught up with Richards to talk about her new book, focusing on the issues affecting working parents. Here are edited excerpts of our conversation.”
Send a Burrito-Gram for Sick Days in Ohio
“Want to send a "Burrito-Gram" to Ohio leaders? It's a fun way to make a serious point about the need for paid sick days in Ohio. WHY DO THIS? This week, a Chipotle Restaurant in Kent closed its doors after people who ate there became ill. A total of 432 people have been affected so far (the number is still climbing) and investigators have collected enough information to suspect that a norovirus brought to work by a sick employee may be the cause. Chipotle was quick to point the finger at a sick employee too: it reopened on Saturday with employees from other store locations, reportedly because of concern that a sick employee might be the source of the outbreak. But, in the food-service industry especially, why on earth would a sick employee be working? Here's why: Chipotle, like most restaurants, doesn't offer paid sick days to its hourly employees. Not a single one. In fact, 86% of service sector workers don't have paid sick days. We can change this! Right now, the Ohio State Legislature has the opportunity to do something about this problem--protecting public health by passing a law requiring employers to allow their workers to earn paid sick days. But the General Assembly hasn't moved this bill forward yet…. Send your free Burrito-Gram now! http://www.momsrising.org/BurritoGramOH.”
Using The Internet To Find Balance
“The Internet has radically changed parenthood. Access to health information, practical advice and emotional support has dramatically reduced the isolation that most new mothers and fathers, whether we work or stay home, often feel…. On Balance has given me dozens, and sometimes hundreds, of faceless friends, teachers, mentors and proteges. I'm never alone in my ongoing struggle to balance working, raising a family, and keeping my sanity…. Beyond On Balance, the range of online support is impressive. Within seconds, you can link into thousands of working moms via Mommy Track'D Survival Kit or Worst Working Mom Moments. You can compare pregnancy notes with other moms who share your due date via Baby Center. When the pediatrician's office is closed you can find facts about common health problems at Revolution Health. Without leaving the crib you can get politically active at Moms Rising or save hours driving and shopping by buying everything from car seats to groceries online. There's even a place where you can write your own sitcom about motherhood. There are conferences now, like BlogHer and the At-Home Dads Convention, for mommy bloggers, daddy bloggers and others who have used the Internet as a lifeline to parental sanity, and even a bridge to a new, more family-friendly career.”
Working Parents, You Can Feel Less Guilty
“Ask kids what they want, and it may surprise you. It surprised Ellen Galinsky, president of the Families and Work Institute and author of "Ask the Children." More than half of the parents whom she interviewed for the book, 56% of them, guessed that when kids were asked what they would wish for if they could change anything about their parents' work lives, the kids would wish for more time with mom and dad. In fact, only 10% of the kids actually wished for more time with mom, and 15% wished for more time with dad. Instead, 34% of kids wished their mothers, and 28% of kids wished their fathers, were less stressed out and tired.”
Ageless In America - The Mature Workforce
“Interview with Ageless In America's Brad Taft, Career Management Specialist and Talent Management Consultant Emphasizing the Changing Workplace and Workforce. Co-Author of "Boom or Bust" and the upcoming book "The Return of the Boomers."
Telework Isn't Always Eco-Friendly
“OK, so, I telecommute, although I’ve always thought of it as working from home. I get that I’m lucky, but around Earth Day or every time some corporate entity either offers or rescinds its work-at-home programs, I get frustrated by the environmental pass telecommuting gives corporations and even web workers. I would argue that it’s not environmentally better at all. Let’s start with the assumption that I’m at home all the time. As a teleworker, I don’t have to be. Flexible work means I can wander around to coffee shops, drop off stuff at the post office or even run by the store to pick up something for dinner, while working in between. The result is I may drive as much as a commuter — or even more — depending on my daily errands.”
Continuing the Dialogue
“On Wednesday, April 16th, the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging held a hearing entitled "Caring For Our Seniors: How Can We Support Those On The Frontlines?". The Committee Chairman, Senator H. Kohl (D-WI) led the hearing.… The other side of the caregiving issue was also discussed – informal care. An ever increasing number of Americans find themselves caring both for their children as well as their parents…. Policy must be crafted to address the current shortfalls regarding both formal and informal caregiving. At WOW, we are particularly interested in see[sic] parity in part-time work for those finding themselves in need of providing informal care.”
Survey
FMLA Changes Supported Overall, but Some Concerns Linger
“There is little objection to most of the changes to the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) that the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) wants to make, according to a survey of compensation, benefits and HR professionals who handle their organizations’ total rewards. In fact, they appear to welcome changes that might ease two of their administrative headaches: a lack of advance notice by employees taking leave, and difficulty in tracking FMLA-related absences. For example, 43 percent of 401 respondents spend an average of 10 to 30 minutes requesting/reviewing documentation every time FMLA leave is taken…. The findings, released April 2008, are based on a February 2008 online survey of WorldatWork’s U.S. members. Members typically are at or above the manager level in compensation, benefits or HR and work in the headquarters of a large company in North America, according to the organization.” A complimentary full copy of the report is available by request from Marcia Rhodes at marcia.rhodes@worldatwork.org.
Global News
Having Foreign Builders Will Not Pick Up Dropped Ball
“The Government must tackle the shortage of labour at both ends — retirees and apprentices. With 100,000 construction workers over the age of 55, the Government needs to investigate the retraining of retiring workers to use their skills, knowledge and experience in another form, such as registered trainers. To attract apprentices, the Government must advertise to raise community interest in the trades. The Government also needs to fund a study into why apprentice attrition rates are so high when the industry pays so well, and offers stable employment. The second thing the Government can do is in workplace flexibility. Whether companies are local or foreign, most commercial builders in Victoria are bound by an industry-wide workday calendar. The rigidity of this calendar hurts productivity and undermines work-life balance. By helping industry secure more flexible arrangements for our workforces, we can improve industry capacity and worker wellbeing.”
Rearing to Go
“So, although there have been huge increases in the universal child benefit that goes to all mothers, most of the funding has been targeted through family tax credits at working parents and that's where the debate has been. At the same time, the right to maternity leave has been doubled and parental leave has been introduced. At last, fathers have been recognised as carers as well as breadwinners. But there are always unintended consequences. As G2 reported yesterday, employers are growing dubious about employing women and cavalier about obeying their anti-discrimination obligations.”
Leave Account: Win-win Solution to Child Care
“It's a good thing for our communities if working parents are able to take time out to spend with children. This should be the guiding principle for the Productivity Commission's upcoming inquiry into paid maternity, paternity and parental leave. The second principle is to accept that many parents want or need to participate meaningfully in work while raising a family. However many lack choice, and face barriers such as a lack of affordable good quality child care, limited employment opportunities, inflexible work and gender bias in the framing of entitlements. We think there should be a new policy option for parents: the creation of 'leave accounts' that roll up long service and annual leave into portable accounts that can be drawn down by parents for the first five years of a child's life. More on this later - first let's look at the problems to show why leave accounts would work for families, government and employers.”
You're Fired
“Since 1975, it has been illegal to ask a woman about her plans for children or childcare in a job interview. Yet when Alan Sugar grilled a mother about her childcare plans on TV, there was barely a squeak of protest. And now everybody's at it. Kira Cochrane reports… In 2005, the Equal Opportunities Commission estimated that 30,000 women in the UK are pushed out of their jobs due to pregnancy each year - that is 7% of all pregnant women in the workforce at any one time - and since they are being attacked when they are often low on resources and wary of a fight, it remains largely a hidden problem, with only 3% of cases going to tribunal. And it's not just being fired or made redundant that's a problem. Discrimination means that many mothers and women of childbearing age simply aren't being given jobs in the first place. Last year, the Equalities Review, commissioned by the government, found that mothers face more discrimination in the workplace than any other group.”
This is one article in a series from the Guardian this week, dubbed Work-life Balance Week. The series includes dozens of articles on work-life balance topics from balancing work with caregiving, de-gendering flexibility policies, balancing work and school, and more. Follow this link to read more (including editor’s picks): http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/worklifebalance.