When Svetlana Arizanovska found out she was pregnant, she was very excited. A mother of three daughters, Svetlana worked two jobs to support her family. By day, she worked for a medical supply company. At night, she worked at Wal-Mart.
At Wal-Mart, Svetlana often lifted heavy merchandise to stock the store’s shelves. Due to her pregnancy, her doctor told her not to lift more than 20 pounds — but Wal-Mart refused to comply. In fact, Wal-Mart has a policy saying pregnant employees are not eligible for reassignments to another position, even though reassignments are available when employees need them because of a disability. One day, while she was lifting heavy merchandise for Wal-Mart, Svetlana started bleeding. She told her boss, but he ignored her. The next morning, Svetlana went to the emergency room and realized her worst fears were true — she had miscarried.
No one should have to choose between her pregnancy, her health, and her job. But that’s exactly what happens to many women like Svetlana. Please help us fight for women facing challenges in the workplace and beyond. We need to raise $10,000 by midnight on Thursday. Click here to chip in $10 or more to help us reach our goal.
Employers typically accommodate workers with limitations due to a temporary disability and often accommodate workers with injuries — but when pregnant women need a temporary change in their job, many bosses refuse to make even the smallest adjustments. They may not know they’re breaking the law when they deny women like Svetlana the ability to work without compromising their health or the health of their pregnancies.
Too many pregnant women have been faced with a choice no one should have to make: Keep working and risk the health of their pregnancy — or lose their job. It’s time for employers to stop breaking the law by using pregnancy as an excuse to push women out of work. It’s up to us to take a stand against policies that punish women. Your donation will help us fight back. We depend on your support for our work on behalf of women and families.
Thank you, as always, for everything you do.
Sincerely,
Emily J. Martin Vice President and General CounselNational Women’s Law Center
P.S. We depend on your support to help us fight for women and their families. Please help us reach our $10,000 goal before midnight on Thursday.
Four years — that’s how long it’s been since the last increase in the federal minimum wage. It’s still stuck at $7.25 per hour — and that adds up to only $14,500 for a year of full-time work. That’s thousands of dollars below the poverty line for a mother and two children. SIGN THE PETITION! Urge your Senators and Representative to pass the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2013 (H.R. 1010/S.460).
The Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2013 will give minimum-wage workers a much-needed raise. The bill will gradually raise the minimum wage to $10.10 per hour, and index it to inflation in order to keep up with the rising cost of living. It will also increase the minimum cash wage for tipped workers to 70 percent of the regular minimum wage — because right now the federal minimum cash wage for tipped workers is only $2.13 per hour. Join advocates from across the country to call on Congress to pass the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2013. Sign the petition today!
Women represent nearly two-thirds of minimum-wage workers and workers in tipped occupations. And they are struggling to provide for their families. Increasing the minimum wage to $10.10 per hour will boost annual earnings by $5,700 — enough to pull a family of three out of poverty. Raising the minimum wage will help close the gender wage gap, and would be especially helpful to women of color, who are disproportionately represented among female minimum-wage workers.
Don’t let next year be the fifth anniversary of NO increase in the minimum wage. Sign the petition today.
Thank you for all you do for women and their families.
Sincerely,
P.S. Did you know that 60% of the jobs gained by women in the economic recovery are low-wage? Check out our Facebook graphic to learn more and spread the knowledge
As Americans, we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men and women are created equal.
This is true not only on the 4th of July, but every day in our country.
Last week, the Senate passed a historic bipartisan immigration reform bill. Though the bill was flawed, it was a good first step toward creating a pathway to citizenship for millions of immigrant women and men who contribute to our communities. Now it’s time for the House of Representatives to follow suit. Tell your Representative to pass comprehensive immigration reform that meets the needs of immigrant women and their families.
Immigration reform should help families reunite and stay together, ensure that immigrant women have fair access to the path to citizenship and green cards, protect against the exploitation of workers, make affordable health care available to lawfully present immigrants, and preserve tax credits and Social Security benefits for lawful immigrants. Fight for immigrant women and their families. Tell your Representative we need immigration reform to provide a roadmap for people who aspire to be citizens and to give immigrant women and families a fair chance.
It’s not what you look like or where you were born that makes you American — it’s how you live your life. We believe that families should stick together, and that we have a responsibility to help our neighbors. Common-sense immigration reform will make this possible for the millions of immigrant families contributing to our communities today.
Thank you for everything you do for women and their families.
Sincerely,
Living in a neighborhood where exercising outdoors isn’t safe.
Seems obvious, right? But a loophole in the health care law could do just that. We need your help to close a loophole in the health care law that could punish low-income women and women with chronic diseases. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently released proposed rules on the health care law’s wellness program that would increase premiums and out-of-pocket costs for individuals who do not or cannot participate in certain wellness activities, such as an exercise program. Help us make sure that employer-sponsored wellness programs don’t penalize women and their families.
Programs that increase premiums or out-of-pocket costs for individuals who do not participate in employer-run wellness programs could cause women who hold more than one job, who have childcare or eldercare responsibilities, or health conditions that restrict their ability to participate in program activities to pay more for health coverage or health care. And they ignore other economic and environmental barriers to improving health for low-income women and the fact that women who are pregnant or breast feeding might be medically-advised against participating in certain activities, such as a weight-loss program. You have less than a week to make your voice heard! The IRS is only taking comments about its proposed rules on the health care law’s wellness program until July 2. That’s why we need you to make your voice heard today.
Going to the gym and eating healthy foods are good goals but easier for some than others. If your neighborhood grocery store doesn’t have fresh vegetables, you have children or elderly family to care for, or your community doesn’t have an affordable gym or sidewalks for you to walk and run on— it may be nearly impossible to be part of a program that requires you to participate to keep your health insurance premiums or out of pocket costs affordable. Take action now.
Thank you for all you do for women and families.
Sincerely,
Help us protect girls from sexual assault and bullying and continue other vital work with a generous donation.
When you see the news, it’s the same disturbing story. The four-letter word our friends, sisters and daughters face in school? Slut. Sometimes even after experiencing sexual violence. Here is the story of one Michigan high school student.
She was sexually assaulted at school in a soundproof band room by a star player on the basketball team and then felt discouraged by the principal from filing charges. The girl and her parents filed charges anyway. Despite an obligation under Title IX, which requires federally funded schools to ensure an environment free from sex-based discrimination, school officials took virtually no action. And the victim was subsequently subjected to intensive harassment and bullying by the assailant and other students — both at school and online. The National Women’s Law Center has joined with a Michigan law firm to file a lawsuit in federal court to hold this school district accountable for its failure to adequately address the harassment and to send a nationwide message that sexual assault, bullying and harassment is never okay. Your help allows us to take on cases like this and continue our work to protect women and girls. Please donate $10 to support our work.
Sadly, this student is far from alone. Every two minutes, someone in the U.S. is sexually assaulted. As we’ve seen in Steubenville, Ohio and across the country, this problem is not going away. And often after a sexual assault, survivors are made to feel ashamed instead of supported. The chilling message students are receiving from some schools is that they should remain silent in the face of sexual assault. It’s time to end that. Please donate $10 to support the Center’s work.
Thank you for helping us continue to stand up for women and girls.
Sincerely,
Judy Waxman Vice President for Health and Reproductive Rights National Women’s Law Center
Be a Seed for Change 
You must be logged in to post a comment.