January 9, 2009 .
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
Aging workforce presents challenges to employers
“While the trend of an aging workforce is not unique to Maine -- the so-called "baby boomer" generation born following World War II is a key driver -- the state is also projected to see a decline in younger workers, McPeck said. That's why it's important for employers to anticipate the needs of this growing demographic and adapt to the emerging challenges as job expectations and technology change, he said. For instance, things employers should consider offering include more flexible work hours, worksite wellness programs and opportunities for further training and education. ”
Secrets of Solis
“California Representative Hilda Solis visits the Senate today for her confirmation hearing to become Barack Obama's Secretary of Labor. One question we'd like to hear asked is what Ms. Solis really thinks about secret ballots in workplace issues. It seems she's been on both sides of the question. In the late 1990s, she led a fight on behalf of organized labor to retain overtime for more than eight hours of work a day. As part of that tussle, Ms. Solis wrote legislation that set out the procedures by which companies and employees could agree to "alternative workweek schedules" that might avoid overtime pay. (As an example, a worker might choose to do his 40 hours by putting in four, 10-hour days.) The bill also set out procedures by which workers might repeal an existing alternative workweek schedule.”
Pre-birth maternity leave aids babies, moms
“Maternity leave before and after giving birth is better for both moms and their babies, a team led by UC Berkeley researchers found in a rare look at how the time off work relates to the health of both mothers and babies. While most new mothers take at least some time off work after bringing the baby home, far fewer take advantage of entitled maternity leave before they give birth - and they should, researchers said. Women who worked right up until delivery day were more likely to have a cesarean section, according a study released this week and funded by the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration.”
Kennedy seen as model for re-entry
“With her Camelot pedigree and Park Avenue address, Caroline Kennedy is not exactly the average American woman. But many women identify with her impulse to enter the work force after two decades of child rearing. Kennedy's bid for the Senate has reignited the "mommy wars" between mothers with careers and those who take a break from paid employment. Like Kennedy, many women face resentment when they return to the work force after raising kids and doing volunteer work. [. . .] Kennedy, 51, graduated from Columbia Law School but never practiced law. She raised three children, wrote and edited several books, served on the boards of public service organizations and worked as the unpaid chief of fundraising for the New York City schools. Now that Kennedy's three children are adults or nearly so, she is opting to get back onto the career track, though on a much grander scale than most women.”
Schwarzenegger takes aim at state workers' paid holidays
“Like much of the nation's workforce, California state employees took New Year's Day off and still got paid. Unlike many in the private sector, state workers are slated to get an additional 13 paid holidays off the rest of this year — including Lincoln and Washington's birthdays in February (four days apart), Cesar Chavez Day in March, Columbus Day in October and Veteran's Day in November. The policy is among the most generous in the nation: Only two other states offer government employees more paid holidays. Now, with California facing one of the largest deficits in its history, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is taking aim at that coveted perk of state service. As part of his plan to tame a projected $41.6 billion shortfall through mid-2010, Schwarzenegger has suggested eliminating two of the 14 paid holidays: Lincoln's Birthday and Columbus Day.”
State workers look for options on paid leave
“A state agency is seeking an emergency exemption for two employees so they can salvage about five weeks of annual leave. Two employees with the state Public Employees Insurance Agency were unable to take all their annual leave last year because they needed to work extended hours, weekends and holidays as the agency worked to implement a new accounting system and had to switch office space. The state personnel board voted to file an emergency rule request with the Secretary of State to allow the employees to carry over into 2009 more annual leave than they otherwise would have been entitled to keep.”
Sick time policy crucial for small business
“At the checkout counter of a Manhattan office supply store, there is a rack stocked with disinfectant spray, throat lozenges, tissues and Vitamin C supplements — reminders to small business owners that a new season, the flu season, is upon us. Flu season inevitably means employee absences. And so the beginning of the year is a good time for company owners to think about their policy not just for sick time, but time off in general. Many business owners might not think about a policy for sick or medical days until an employee starts taking a lot of time off. [. . .] Before formulating a policy, owners should be aware that they're not required under federal or most state laws to grant employees paid time off when they're sick, but the federal Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, known as the FMLA, might require that companies give workers unpaid sick leave. However, not granting any paid sick time at all is probably a bad idea — not only is it a morale-buster, it will make it harder to recruit good workers.”
Blogs
"Work and Family Balance," Second Bullet in the White House VP Task Force Agenda!
“This fall, I noted how remarkable it was that work life “balance” and flexibility were part of both candidates’ economic platforms. Families and Work Institute, the prestigious work-life think tank, then hosted unprecedented conference calls with both campaigns to discuss their positions on work+life issues. And with the recently-announced White House Task Force on Working Families, to be chaired by Vice President-elect Joe Biden, the historic progress of the work+life agenda as a core economic issue continues. This could be big.”
Near Horizon for Telecommuting Looks Good
“According to CareerBuilder.com's new job forecast, things look good for telecommuting in the days ahead. While only 14 percent of surveyed employers expect to boost hiring this year, about one-third of surveyed employers say they expect to expand flexible work arrangements. Nearly half expect to offer more telecommuting or compressed work-week options for their employees. [. . .] As the country increasingly looks for ways to save costs and "go green", expanding telecommuting arrangements would only seem to make sense.”
Job-Hunting Help for Mom
“It’s been a few months since the Today Show and Motherlode began working with Caroline Knise and Maritza McCarthy, two mothers who have been at home with their children for several years and who now need to get back to work. I promised updates along the way, and the great news is Knise found a job, as an administrator in a local doctor’s office. It very different work than the event-planning job she had left, but it provides exactly the short commute and predictable hours she needs. McCarthy, in turn, who left her Wall Street position trading government securities six years ago, has not had as easy a time. Like Knise, she is looking to do something different, in part because she knows that the type of job she left would be all but impossible to find in this economy, and in part because she seeks more flexibility and less pressure (for which she expects to receive far less salary).”
I Love Seeing Babies at Work!
“Yes there are jobs for which this is simply not possible, but there are also millions of jobs where keeping your baby with you is the most natural thing in the world. When you consider that the birth of a child is a leading cause of a "poverty spell" in America, this solution is one simple answer and it turns out it is good for business! (Paid family leave also diminishes the financial strain for new families and has been shown to increase employee retention as well. In CA a new parent can take six weeks of paid family leave, plus mothers who give birth get 6 weeks paid medical leave.)”
Global News
Feminists shocked by Dati's lightning maternity leave
“’It's a scandal,’ said Maya Surduts, of the National Collective for women's rights, while Florence Montreynaud, president of the feminist group Chiennes de garde, believes that Dati is setting ‘a very bad example’. Surduts argues that employers could exploit Dati's rapid return to work to put ‘intolerable pressure’ on female employees. While Montreynaud accuses her of being boosted by ‘the adrenaline of power’. Feminist opinion is not unanimous. In the freesheet Metro, another Chiennes de garde leader, Isabelle Alonso, salutes Dati's ‘courage and tenacity’ in breaking down the barrier that kept mothers out of politics. But she is pretty much on her own. Also in Metro, business leader Sophie de Menthon points out that she would have been jailed if she had forced an employee to take maternity leave of only five days. French law guarantees 16 weeks' minimum parental leave, ten of which are usually taken directly following the birth, and it can last as long as 26 weeks.”
Record levels of unpaid overtime
“Employers had benefited from record levels of unpaid overtime provided by their workers last year in a further extension of the long-hours culture that has characterised the British workplace, the TUC said today. More than five million people gave free overtime worth £26.9bn by staying at work longer than their contracted hours – the highest number since records began in 1992. The TUC, whose figures were based on analysis of official statistics, said the previous record was in 2001, when five million employees worked unpaid overtime.”
Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg wants fathers to get a year off work
“In an interview to be published in The Daily Telegraph, Mr Clegg describes as "pathetic" the current two week statutory entitlement for new fathers, and says that men should be able to take over parental leave to allow their wives or girlfriends to return to work. Mr Clegg, whose wife Miriam Gonzalez Durantez is due to give birth to their third child in a few weeks, also speaks candidly of his frustration at the lack of judgement shown by two high-profile party figures, Brian Paddick, the Liberal Democrat candidate for London Mayor, and Lembit Opik, who failed to become party president at the end of last year. The attack comes as the leader enters his second year in office with a new focus on the family - and in particular the role of fathers who, he says, do not receive enough support.”