Promote Family Financial Success through Supportive Work/Family Policies

Supportive work policies are essential to ensuring the economic security of families living in, and near, poverty. In addition to the safety net, supportive workplace policies help to expand opportunities and allow families to grow toward independence by supporting parents in their efforts to both successfully raise a family and maintain stable work. Work is an important aspect of a family’s ability to meet their financial needs and develop assets and social support systems - which positively impact their children’s future. 

• Raise the Minimum Wage. Raising the minimum wage for low-wage workers can prevent millions of families from living in poverty. A slight increase in wages can often help provide families with just enough to provide the essentials to meet their basic needs. Minimum wage earners have seen wages stalled at an all-time low, while the cost of living continues to rise.^[1] The federal minimum wage has lost more than 30 percent of its value and would be $10.74 per hour today if it had kept pace with the cost of living over the past 40 years.^[2] The federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour translates to just $15,080 per year for a full-time worker and remains decades out of date. The federal minimum wage for tipped workers of $2.13 an hour has not increased in over twenty years.^[3] Increasing the minimum wage at the state level would have a significant impact on poor children and families.  Increasing wages would positively impact more than 30 million workers—88 percent of whom are adults over the age of twenty, 56 percent are women and nearly half are workers of color.^[4]

In September 2013, the state legislature in California passed House Bill AB10,^[5] which will raise the minimum wage to $10.00 by 2016.  California currently has 3.4 million workers who will receive a raise as their employers adjust their pay scales,which will generate $ 3.3 billion in new economic growth for the state^.[6] More than 90 percent of the workers in California who stand to benefit from this wage increase are adults over 20, 87 percent of whom work more than 20 hours per week and 43 percent have some college education.^[7]

• Support Equal Pay for Women. Women are still experiencing a significant wage gap compared to men. According to the Department of Labor, women earn approximately 81 cents on the dollar, compared to their male counterparts, in weekly wages, and about 77 cents when calculations are based on annual earnings.^[8] This gap equates to hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost wages over the course of a lifetime.^[9] The pay gap becomes larger among minority women and women with disabilities. This wage gap has a significant impact on families. Almost 40 percent of all households with children under the age of 18 include mothers who are either the sole or primary source of income for the family.^[10]

In 2002, Vermont adopted House Bill 99,^[11] which made it illegal for employers to pay employees of different genders different wages for similar work. In 2012, however, the median ratio of women’s to men’s earnings in Vermont was 87 percent. In an effort to increase parity, the Vermont State Legislature amended House Bill 99 in 2013.  The amended bill targets a number of factors that contributed to the continued wage gap. The new law bans retaliation against employees that discuss their wages, allows for employees to request flexible work schedules and requires employers to have legitimate business reasons for paying workers different wages.^[12]

• Institute Protections for Pregnant Workers. Pregnant workers are often penalized for requiring certain accommodations on the job, and often times, these women are forced out or fired. When possible, working during pregnancy can allow women to earn additional income and permit women to take a longer period of leave following childbirth. Low-income women in the workforce are often more affected by the demands of job duties during pregnancy than are their more affluent peers, since they are more susceptible to work in jobs with limited flexibility. However, women with slightly higher paying jobs in fields that have traditionally been dominated by men, such as policing and trucking, face multiple obstacles in keeping their employment during and after pregnancy.[13] The physical conflict between work and childbearing can lead some mothers to lose their jobs, which disconnects their families from needed income during a crucial time.

In an effort to better support pregnant women and the families they support, the New York State legislature passed the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act in 2013.^[14] This law requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations for the needs of workers related to pregnancy, childbirth or a related medical condition. Rest breaks, assistance with manual labor and a period of recovery time from childbirth are a few examples of the required accommodations. The law also stipulates that if an employer fails to provide reasonable accommodations, the employee can bring legal action against their employers.

• Institute Paid Family and Medical Leave. Paid family and medical leave provides income replacement to workers on leave for family caregiving, bonding with a new child, or personal leave taken to recover from a serious health condition. It is essential to provide new parents with the opportunity to request time off without being penalized or forced to incur the economic burden of unpaid leave or the possible threat of losing their jobs. In the United States, 70 percent of mothers with children under the age of 18 are employed—57 percent of whom are mothers with an infant child.[15] Inflexible work schedule and insufficient time off makes it difficult for parents to have an engaged and meaningful presence in their children’s lives, which is especially impactful on newborns. This support is important to ensure financial security by maintaining job stability and is critical for both parents.  There has been some progress related to supporting paid family leave; however, 40 percent of private-sector workers and 81 percent of low-wage workers still do not have access to any paid family leave.[16]

In 2013, Rhode Island became the third state, following California and New Jersey, to enact paid family leave legislation, The Rhode Island Parental and Family Medical Leave Act. ^[17] Under an amendment to the State’s Temporary Disability Insurance Act,  the Rhode Island Temporary Caregiver Insurance program, which covers 80% of Rhode Island’s workforce, is financed through a small employee pay roll deduction and is of no cost to the state or employers. The payroll deduction is calculated at 1.2 percent of the first $62,700 of income. For example, workers making $43,000 annually pay 83 cents a week in payroll deductions, which provide for four weeks of paid leave. The number of paid leave weeks available to workers will double by 2015. The minimum weekly payment will be $72, and the maximum a worker can receive will be $725.^[18] The program provides workers with paid leave when they have a new child, adopt a child or need to care for a sick relative.