Paid sick leave, new rights for temp workers, and extending OSHA protections to public sector employees were among the many victories that unfolded at the state and local levels in the last 12 months and that we highlight in this year’s edition of “The Year in U.S. Occupational Health & Safety.”
It’s perhaps not surprising that single parents face a higher risk of living in poverty. However, a new study finds that such risk is much higher for single mothers than for single fathers, even when they both have similar jobs and education levels and work the same number of hours.
Last week, an In These Times piece by Sharon Lerner presented an alarming statistics: Nearly one in four employed US mothers return to work within two weeks after giving birth.
Leaders in the domestic workers movement write about continuing challenges and forward progress; Wisconsin workers lose right to a living wage; OSHA designates DuPont a severe violator; and Michigan advocates organize for paid sick leave.
Injury Control & Violence
Study: Many health care providers feel pressure to work while sick, despite the risk to patients
A key argument in the movement to expand sick leave to all workers is that such policies help curb the spread of contagious diseases. And there are few workplaces where that concept is more important than in health care settings, where common diseases can be especially dangerous for patients with compromised immune systems. However, a new study finds that despite such risks, doctors and nurses still feel pressured to report to work while sick.
Oregon’s House and Senate have passed a bill requiring businesses with 10 or more employees to let their workers earn paid sick time. If the Governor signs it as expected, Oregon will be the fourth state with a paid-sick-days law. Will New Jersey be next?
Family-friendly workplace policies can have unintended consequences for women; building owner charged with murder in collapse of garment factory in Bangladesh; new standing recommendations proposed for office workers; and a famous food journalist calls for improved working conditions for food workers.
Advocates work to expand consumer concern from humanely treated food to humanely treated workers; workers with children face struggles in Silicon Valley; Texas lawmakers introduce bill aimed at fertilizer plants; Microsoft to require paid leave policies at its suppliers; and the McDonald’s wage hike is too small for too few.
Workers continue to face dangerous exposures to diacetyl; paid sick leave legislation introduced in West Virginia; home health workers rally for living wages; and the rise of the independent contractor classification threatens worker rights.
Labor Rights
DeLauro and Murray re-introduce Healthy Families Act; Philly finally gets paid sick days
Last week, US Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) and Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) reintroduced the Healthy Families Act, which would allow US workers to earn paid sick time.