Strollerderby : family medical leave act

Why Swine Flu is Bad for the Economy

JeanneSager — Fri, 01 May 2009 15:32:00 GMT

Swine flu could have a devastating affect on working families, and not a single member of the family has to get sick to do it.

School closures are already happening around the country, and President Obama has warned many more may happen in the coming weeks. He's suggested we set up contingency plans for daycare, but here's the rub: daycare centers are being advised not to take in kids from the schools where the outbreaks are occurring - because they might will make the spread even more dangerous (especially for the younger kids who are regulars at the centers).

So what are parents to do? Stay home with their kids?

They're federally protected by the family medical leave act to do so (as long as they haven't already used up their twelve weeks alloted FMLA time this year for other family emergencies). But there's no provision to ensure parents are paid to do so. And there's no provision for employers to make up for the loss in productivity.

In other words? Swine flu isn't just affecting the tourism industry and the pork industry. It could well hurt the economy as a whole, and lower income families specifically.

With other school closings (which I have, at times, advocated for), there is generally advanced warning. With this, there is no clue what schools might close and when. With other closings there's also rarely a reason for daycares to keep kids out - if anything, vacations help the daycare industry because there's an influx of kids and their paying parents.

So what can parents do? Call other parents. Figure out a playdate schedule for a few days so your two kids can play together while one parent works, then switch off the next day. At the very least, it will lessen the number of days out of work for you. Find a neighbor who is unemployed because of the other economic issues and see if they'll watch your kids (chances are, they won't cost as much as a traditional daycare anyway, especially if you're handing them cash off the books).

If my daughter's nursery school closes down, I'll have to do my own scrambling, but I can't say I blame school officials. The first superintendent to leave a school open and watch a child die is going to face one heck of a lawsuit.

Image:PBS

Pregnant Cop Denied Light Duty Sues Department

JeanneSager — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 20:22:00 GMT

If you're getting pregnant on your own time, is it up to your employer to provide lighter duties during your pregnancy?

In general, I think most of America (especially us mothers) would say "absolutely." But a case in a Long Island court puts a unique twist on the age-old "is pregnancy really a disability" argument between moms and their employers.

The Suffolk County Parks Police do not provide light duty to any officer who is "injured" while off duty (in other words, limited duty is provided only for officers injured on the job). The department says that extends to female officers who get pregnant - it's either work your regular duties or take leave during the pregnancy.They're claiming that means they treat the sexes exactly the same.

But Tara Germain will be in court this week, claiming her civil rights were violated. As a woman, getting pregnant, she could not apply for any form of disability payments like her male counterparts, leaving her to face her pregnancy with no income coming in unless she decided to remain on full duty with the department.

Germain's lawyers contend that the grueling duties required by her job were not appropriate for a pregnant woman, and although I'm not a police officer, I can see how running down a perp is not easily done with an eight-months-along belly. I worked up until the evening before I was induced - more than a week after my due date - and I can tell you that while being a reporter is different from being a cop, it's another non-desk job which requires a lot of flexibility (try lying on the ground to get a good shot with a camera when you're nine months along) and is hardly cushy. I speak from that experience when I say light duty of some sort is in order for pregnant women.

But I can't totally blame the police department here. I blame the federal government. What do businesses do in a country where they have to keep running with the staff they have, but the government is doing nothing to provide their employees relief? The fix to problems like Germain's doesn't seem to be in suing the employers but in making the family medical leave act stronger - providing PAID leave for mothers, providing a funding source other than disability insurance (which not every employer carries) because pregnancy is not a disability. Employers need to play a role too; jobs should be protected (which they currently are - to a point) and pregnancy should be respected as something women do not to anger their employer but to enhance the world in general.

What do you think Babble readers? In the Germain case, who is in the right?

Image: NJ Blog

Canada Nixes Parents' Request for Dual Leave At Twins Birth

JeanneSager — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 20:02:00 GMT

Some say twice the kids means twice the works. That's what Christian Martin and Paula Critchley are expecting anyway . . . along with twins, due to be delivered in May. To get ready, the couple both put in for the thirty-five weeks of leave afforded Canadian parents after a baby is born. They've been denied.

Well, one has anyway. The Canadian government has said its rules for twins (and ostensibly any other multiple birth) are the same as those for a single birth: thirty-five weeks of paid leave to be split between the two parents. One parent can take the full thirty-five weeks, or each can take leave periods that - when added together - are equal to that two-hundred forty-five-day allotment. According to research by Canadian newspaper the Globe and Mail, the country's Employment Insurance Act spells out that one person cannot apply for additional benefits for multiple births. But, they say, it does not "specifically address multiple claimants making claims for multiple births." In other words - two parents, two paychecks, right?

Martin says he's not looking to make money off of the government because his wife is carrying two babies. But with twice the work at home, he says it's only right that two parents be there to handle the burden. That means twice the work not being done outside the home - or twice the income not coming in the doors. And with twice the number of mouths to feed . . . well, you do the math.

It's a sticky wicket. I have no doubt that multiples ARE harder than most single births. But what about premie single births that require both parents to take extensive amounts of time off to spend in the NICU? What about parents who have other children already at home and find their new baby exhausting? Or the single mom of the multiple children - however she ended up single and pregnant - should she get that extra money to hire someone to help? What about the parents of a single child who suffers from one of hundreds of disorders that require more than the usual round the clock care of the average newborn? What about the mother of a single child who is suffering from postpartum depression so severe she doesn't even want to see her baby, nonetheless care for him? Should they get extra pay for the extra parent?

Either way, I confess I'm jealous. Nothing like the U.S. where you get six weeks of "disability" payments for a vaginal birth that come nowhere near your regular salary and one of which is taken away (for some reason I could not ever get clear with my company's insurer).

Image: Twinsurance

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Maternity Leave and Sick Newborns

Madeline Holler — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 20:03:00 GMT

Here's the Sophie's Choice of parental leave: use up all your leave time to be with your preemie newborns at the hospital or save it for after they get home?

A federal employee in Washington, D.C., had to make that decision and wound up going back to work two weeks (two weeks!) after giving birth.

Going without pay, which she can under the Family Medical Leave Act, wasn't an option, as it isn't for many families.

The mother's story comes up as an example of how inadequate family leave for federal employees is. This mother had saved up all her sick and vacation days for maternity leave. But when the babies were born early and had to spend time at the hospital, she had to use those days carefully and make the tough choice to return to work two weeks after giving birth. A N.Y. congresswoman is working to get federal employees eight weeks of paid paternity leave.

From the Washingtonpost.com

Too often, federal employees are forced to choose between their paycheck and their new child, said Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney (D-N.Y.), vice chairman of the joint committee, noting that "even the best-prepared workers face difficult choices when children need their care."

We all know the U.S. is painfully behind in terms of family and maternity leave. So how would you have used the days, particularly if going without pay isn't an option?

Strollerderby : family medical leave act

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Pregnant Cop Denied Light Duty Sues Department

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Canada Nixes Parents' Request for Dual Leave At Twins Birth

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Maternity Leave and Sick Newborns