What's New Archive

November 7, 2008 –

The election has been decided: Barack Obama will be America’s next president. Over the course of the campaign, we got some insights into the president-elect’s priorities on workplace flexibility issues. To address the need for time off, Obama has supported paid sick days legislation, expansion of the Family and Medical Leave Act to cover more employees and $1.5 billion to states to support financing mechanisms for family and medical leave.

To address the need for flexible work arrangements, Barack Obama has proposed establishing a program to provide information to businesses on their benefits and how they can be effectively implemented. For more information on President-elect Barack Obama’s work-life policies, click here or here.

We have also had the opportunity to become acquainted with the future First Lady, Michelle Obama, who “looks forward to continuing her work on the issues close to her heart-supporting military families, helping working women balance work and family, and encouraging national service.” As a working mother of two, Michelle Obama’s personal experience informs her interest in work and family issues.

For more on Michelle Obama’s interest in work-life issues, click here, here, or here.

September 16, 2008 – World at Work, a leading human resources association, sponsored a congressional briefing on Tuesday, September 16, in recognition of National Work and Family Month, which was established as October by the United States Senate in 2003. The briefing featured the insight and research of experts in the study of work and family, including Chai Feldblum, Georgetown Law Professor and Co-Director of Workplace Flexibility 2010. Professor Feldblum discussed how a policy of workplace flexibility can benefit both employers and employees.

September 9, 2008 – On Tuesday, September 9, Chai Feldblum, Georgetown Law Professor and Co-Director of Workplace Flexibility 2010, testified before the ERISA Advisory Council at a hearing on phased retirement. The ERISA Advisory Council is composed of fifteen members, each of whom is appointed by the Secretary of Labor to represent the perspective of employers, employees, the general public, or a particular field. The Council advises the Secretary of Labor on matters pertaining to the administration of the Earned Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) of 1974.

Specifically, Professor Feldblum will present the findings of Workplace Flexibility 2010 on the subject of phased retirement. Professor Feldblum’s testimony underscores the point that phased retirement is beneficial to both employers and employees, delineates the legal obstacles to implementing a program of phased retirement, and suggests a course for the ERISA Advisory Council and the Department of Labor to consider in acting on the issue.

For Professor Chai Feldblum's written testimony, click here.

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