Marissa Ditkowsky, a member of Federation’s Disability Inclusion Committee and 2022 Capital Chai honoree, is a disabled advocate and attorney currently serving as Disability Economic Justice Counsel at the National Partnership for Women & Families. Interview with Marissa Ditkowsky.
It’s time we make comprehensive, paid family and medical leave a reality for every worker in America.
“The law was a groundbreaking step forward, making clear that a policy enabling workers to care for their families was an essential, baseline labor standard,” said Jocelyn Frye, president of the National Partnership for Women & Families, the organization that was the primary architect of the FMLA law and struggled for nearly 10 years to pass it.
The other thing that we know, of the 44 percent of workers who aren’t covered by the FMLA, that workers of color are disproportionately in that number, 48 percent of what Latinx workers, 47 percent of Asian workers, 43 percent of Black workers. So workers of color are bearing the brunt of the gaps of the FMLA. And those are gaps that we should fill.
“It was thought of, at the time, by us as an important civil rights piece of legislation,” said Lichtman, the former president and now senior advisor at the National Partnership for Women and Families.
An analysis by the National Partnership for Women and Families found that the FMLA has been used 460 million times since it was signed into law.
“Women have been expected to take on [caregiving] and handle it without complaint and largely without support,” says Jocelyn Frye, president of the National Partnership. “The Family and Medical Leave Act rejected the premise that it‚Äôs a woman’s lot in life to do that work. Instead, what the FMLA said is that all workers have some sort of care need, and we need to be able to ensure that those folks can take time off and come back to their jobs.”
“The law’s longevity is a point of pride for organizations like the National Partnership for Women & Families, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit that played a lead role in drafting the FMLA and advocating for its passage.”
Jocelyn Frye, the president of the National Partnership for Women and Families, says: “The FMLA was a groundbreaking step forward, but our work is not done. We cannot continue to ignore the care needs of workers and their families. Our nation’s leaders need to step up and make the choice to enact policies that enable workers to do their jobs and care for their families without putting their livelihoods at risk.”
Ahead of FMLA’s 30th anniversary, researchers find a lack of paid leave makes economic challenges worse across the U.S.
On the eve of the 30th Anniversary of the Family and Medical Leave Act – also known as FMLA –, the National Partnership for Women & Families released a new analysis which finds that FMLA has been used more than 460 million times since being signed into law.
“Jocelyn Frye, president of the National Partnership for Women & Families said the passage of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act was a win for gender and racial equity.”
“The recent article focusing on priorities for the 2023 legislative session (“Reconsidering priorities,” Jan. 9) missed one critical opportunity: passing paid leave for New Mexico. No one should have to choose between a paycheck and taking care of their family. And research shows paid leave is good for businesses and the economy… “
Jocelyn Frye, president of the National Partnership for Women & Families, said the passage of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act was a win for gender and racial equity. She added, “For far too long, pregnant workers have gone without the critical protections many people need to maintain a healthy pregnancy: protections like the ability to take bathroom breaks during a shift, sit down while working a cash register, or pause to take a drink of water to stay hydrated.”
“Women of color fare even worse. Black women make 64 cents for every dollar paid to White, non-Hispanic men, according to the National Partnership for Women and Families.”
“According to the National Partnership for Women & Families, “only 25% of United States workers have paid family leave through their employers, and just 41% have access to personal medical leave through employer-provided short-term disability insurance.””
“The National Partnership for Women & Families has a guide that recommends ways employers can better support pregnant employees on the job. For example, extending accommodations to “all workers, regardless of part-time or temporary status,” not forcing workers to accept unnecessary accommodations, providing paid sick leave and family leave, not docking employees for tardy arrival, and eliminating ‘just-in-time’ scheduling, which gives employees very little notice of their shifts.”
“Access to paid leave helps our economy and helps keep people in the jobs they need so they can care for the families they love without jeopardizing their economic security. Yet 26 million workers currently lack access to paid sick days, as reported last month by the National Partnership for Women & Families. That includes 70 percent of the lowest wage workers, including many child care early educators.”
Statement of Jocelyn Frye, President, National Partnership for Women & Families
