News Roundup

Workplace Flexibility and Choice

"John McCain is calling for National Commission on Workplace Flexibility and Choice. This Commission would bring together a bi-partisan set of leaders representing workers, small and large employers, labor, and academics.  The Commission would make recommendations to the President on how modernizing our nation's labor laws and training programs can help workers better balance the demands of their job with family life and to enable workers to more easily transition between jobs."

• http://www.johnmccain.com/Informing/News/PressReleases/cc55f873-0d4f-438b-a866-688633c02e71.htm

Hard Day's Night? Enhancing The Work-life Balance Of Shift Workers

"Introducing a Compressed Working Week may enhance the work-life balance of shift workers without damaging productivity or competitiveness suggests a new systematic review published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.  One in five European workers are involved in some form of shift work. Health problems associated with shift work include sleep disturbances, fatigue, digestive problems, and stress-related illnesses, as well as increases in sickness absence."

• http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080814104601.htm

Companies Implement Part-Time Layoffs

"Instead of laying off part of his workforce, Savo's laying everyone off part time.  He's doing so as part of a state program called worksharing.  Under this little-known program, offered in 18 states, employees collect unemployment only for the hours they're cut back. To weather the economic slowdown, a growing number of companies are laying people off for part of the workweek."

• http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93581221

Paid Maternity Leave Makes More Productive Workers in Europe

"My daughter grew up in Sweden, which is probably an extreme example of the national government, usually but not always Socialist, where the legislated norm for maternity leave can be as much as 18 months with 80 percent pay.  Marginal tax rates are so high in Sweden that a 20 percent pay cut is barely noticeable. A $30,000 annual wage is taxed at 60 percent – high by American standards, but education, health care and, of course, social security are both government-funded and government-mandated.  The hitch in a long and paid European maternity leave is that anything more than a year has to be shared with the father. As a matter of fact, a month's paid "paternity" leave is required to enter the mix.
European paternity leaves have been the practice for some 30-35 years, and participant rates are around 70-80 percent. Shared leaves are fairly customary, after heavy marketing blitzes, in much of the Continent. So much so, the term "parental leave" has crept into many vocabularies."

• http://www2.hernandotoday.com/content/2008/aug/13/paid-maternity-leave-makes-more-productive-workers/

U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown Receives Best of Congress Award

"U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown is the recipient of the "Best of Congress" Award for his support of working families.  The award was presented by Working Mother Media and Corporate Voices for Working Families. The award was given to 24 recipients who have supported working families through legislation and the policies and practices they've implemented in their own offices."

• http://www.northcentralohio.com/newsboard/single.asp?Story=32707

U.S. Sen. Kohl: Honored as "Best of Congress" for working families

"Working Mother magazine and Corporate Voices for Working Families today announced that U.S. Senator Herb Kohl has been named "Best of Congress" for working families. Kohl received the "Best of Congress" award after a review of his voting record, legislative record, advocacy for children and families, and office policies. Kohl is featured in the September issue of Working Mother magazine, published today, and will receive the award at a ceremony in Washington, DC on September 10th. This is the first "Best of Congress" award, a biannual award that will be presented to lawmakers who work to advance economically sound policies that support and create opportunities for working families."

• http://dailykenoshan.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6441&Itemid=106

Four-day workweek gets A+ at college

"Ask just about any college student, and they'll tell you they'd jump through hoops to avoid taking a class that meets Fridays. So, it was welcome news to students when Brevard Community College in Cocoa, Florida, decided to experiment with a four-day workweek. A year ago, as energy costs headed up and the school faced cuts in state funding, college President James Drake, who drives a hybrid, decided to give the shortened workweek a try.  It worked out better than anyone could have imagined, Drake says."

• http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/worklife/08/12/shorter.workweek/index.html

Best in show

"When Working Mother Media and Corporate Voices for Working Families decided to award members of Congress who do the best stuff for working families, they didn't make it easy. Not only did they study voting records and legislation sponsored and promoted, but "applicants were asked to submit policies and practices within their own offices that support working families and flexible workplace options."  Whether some working mothers worked late to complete these apps is unclear, but 50 members of Congress took the bait. Twenty-four of them won. The Crypt wanted to know the identities of the 26 members who took the time to apply, thinking they had a shot, but were turned back."

• http://www.politico.com/blogs/thecrypt/0808/Best_in_show.html?showall

But the California Senate says 'NO'

"SB 2716, Fiona Ma's 2008 bill guaranteeing California workers paid sick leave, has died in Committee. While our blog recently highlighted a July CA poll underscoring the popularity of and support for paid sick days legislation across party lines, the bill was newly stalled in the Senate Appropriations Committee because it was too expensive.  Opposition to the bill by the small business lobby, including the National Federation of Independent Business, has been strong and appears to have played a part in the sidetracking of the legislation. For instance, NFIB issued "AB2716 — The CA Healthy Workplaces Act of 2008: Economic and Small Business Effects," predicting, among other things, that the proposed bill would cost California 370,000 jobs and would burden employers with 4.6 billion in new costs over a 5-year period."

• http://wfnetwork.bc.edu/blog/but-the-california-senate-says-no

U.S. maternity leave sucks!

"If I ever get pregnant with a third child I'm packing up my family and moving to Sweden. Why? Because both moms and dads are entitled to 18 months paid leave from the government. That's a year-and-a-half of cuddling with baby at home and receiving a paycheck. Does it get any better? Well, yes, Sweden also provides subsidized childcare and flexible work hours to accommodate working families.  I would also consider France, where mothers can take 16 weeks paid maternity leave for the first child and up to 26 weeks for the third. Childcare is subsidized, and a $1,300 grant is paid at the seventh month of pregnancy. Families also receive train, subway and tax breaks."

• http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfmoms/detail?&entry_id=29023

Smith wins plaudits for office personnel policies

"Tiffany Westover-Kernan of the Corporate Voices group said Smith won big points for giving his staffers 12 weeks of paid maternity leave and six weeks of paid paternity leave - with the possibility of negotiating additional weeks of unpaid leave as well. In addition, she also praised Smith for supporting an increase in the minimum wage and extenson of health care coverage for low-income children.  Smith was also praised for offering similar benefits to staffers in his office who are in domestic partnerships.  One caveat about this award. The competition in the award's first year wasn't exactly fierce. The group handed out 24 awards to the 50 members of Congress whose staffers applied. Still, it is the kind of thing that could particularly appeal to women voters, who tend to side with Democrats."

• http://blog.oregonlive.com/mapesonpolitics/2008/08/i_imagine_you_might_see.html

Annual Report Puts Spotlight on Best Law Firms for Women

"The playing field may not yet be level, but some law firms are getting more women into the game, according to the second annual "Best Law Firms for Women" list published Tuesday by Working Mother magazine. Leading off with the statistic that nearly four of five female associates leave their firms within the first five years, the list singles out 50 law firms that have made strides to curb attrition rates and keep women lawyers happy."

• http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1202423725565

Best of Congress

"For the last two decades, American corporations have made significant investments in support of working families.  However, businesses know that despite their investment, they cannot address the challenges working families face alone.  Policymakers are needed to assist companies in developing, sharing and achieving solutions.  Political leaders are increasingly stepping up and developing policies and funding programs, at the national- and state-level, that increase the quality of working families' lives.  To support and promote Congressional involvement in advancing the lives of working families, Corporate Voices for Working Families and Working Mother have joined forces to develop the Best of Congress Award.  The Award will recognize members of the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives for their legislative efforts on behalf of working families."

• http://www.cvworkingfamilies.org/bestofcongress/index.shtml

Mums get the balance right

"KATHERINE SAMPSON didn't want to sacrifice the joys of being a mother when she went back to work after the birth of her first baby. After buying a sandwich shop (at age 27), she knew she'd hit on the right combination of being able to earn an income and not have to miss any sports days or school assemblies.  Within a few years, Sampson (who by then was a single mum with a second child) had four Healthy Habits sandwich bars in Melbourne and knew she was on a winning concept to franchise her idea . . . Throughout all the success, Sampson has not forgotten her ideal of creating a business that can work with the demands placed on women - especially mothers. Not surprisingly, the majority of her franchise partners are women."

• http://business.smh.com.au/business/mums-get-the-balance-right-20080815-3wcr.html

Boss with winning ways

"FROM next month, a group of 40 employees at the headquarters of Cherie Hearts childcare chain will go on a four-day work week.  It is a six-week pilot project that the centre's co-founder Gurchran Singh is introducing, with an eye on extending it for good across the company, which operates 39 childcare centres.  Mr Singh, 34, was given an inaugural award on Friday night for championing work-life harmony at the workplace.  He told The Straits Time: 'Four in five of the staff are women, and most of them are married or getting married. I want them to have some additional time with their families.'  So his staff will get a day off every alternate Friday."

• http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_268455.html