Tag Archives: Overtime

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did you hear the great news ?


National Women's Law Center - Don't Discount Women: Demand Fair Change Not Spare Change
Millions of home-care workers who tirelessly care for seniors and people with disabilities will be protected by the basic wage and hour protections guaranteed under federal law! Under the long-awaited rules issued today, these workers — 9 in 10 of whom are women — will receive basic protections like minimum wage and overtime pay.
Please join us in thanking Secretary of Labor Tom Perez — and urge him to take the next step towards equal pay by releasing a new tool to collect pay information from federal contractors.
Today’s news shows just how much women workers need the Department of Labor to continue to push for more protections for women workers. Here’s why:

  • According to the new U.S. Census numbers released today, women and families are struggling to keep their heads above water. More than one in seven women, nearly 17.8 million, lived in poverty in 2012. And poverty rates were particularly high for women of color and women who head families.
  • The wage gap between men and women is still stuck at 77 cents, despite important laws that prohibit pay discrimination.

Collecting pay information from federal contractors would make it easier to enforce laws that prohibit discrimination.

  • A compensation data toll would help individuals like Lilly Ledbetter and Betty Dukes — women who fought for fair pay against some of the largest employers in the United States. Women like them shouldn’t have to go at it alone.
  • Since 2006, the federal government has had NO tool that effectively monitors wage discrimination based on race, national origin and gender by private employers. As a result, our tax dollars could be going to federal contractors who don’t pay women fairly.

Enough is enough. Today’s victory was an important step for women workers, but we still have a lot to do!
Please take action today by contacting the Department of Labor. It only takes a minute.
Thanks for pushing forward!
Sincerely,
Joan Entmacher  Joan Entmacher Vice President, Family Economic Security National Women’s Law Center     Fatima Goss Graves Fatima Goss Graves Vice President for Education and Employment National Women’s Law Center
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HR1406 : Working Families Flexibility Act


AAUW Action Network
As a “Two-Minute Activist,” you know that we still have a lot of work to do to pass laws that will help workers balance the demands of their work and their families. But we can’t – and we won’t – let Congress fool us with the misnamed Working Families Flexibility Act (H.R. 1406).
We’ve heard the House may vote on H.R. 1406 as early as next week. This bill claims to offer flexibility to employees by allowing them to convert overtime work into paid time off (i.e. comp time) for family responsibilities. But this bill is not an improvement for working families: Under the Working Families Flexibility Act (H.R. 1406), employers would still have complete discretion over whether to approve workers’ requests to convert their overtime into comp time. This means that employees will still have trouble using accumulated days for an emergency, or even to plan for things like parental leave or caregiving leave.
Nothing is currently stopping employers from offering more flexible schedules. Creating yet another system of hurdles for workers to access leave, left entirely at the discretion of their employer, is not the way to achieve flexibility. In just a few days, the House is voting on the problematic Working Families Flexibility Act (H.R. 1406): Tell your representative to vote against H.R. 1406!

Don’t forget to register for AAUW National Convention in New Orleans, June 9-12! At Convention you can connect with more than 600 AAUW members from around the country, hear from esteemed speakers such as MSNBC host Melissa Harris-Perry and fair pay advocate Lilly Ledbetter, and (did we mention?) enjoy the city of New Orleans! Register today so you don’t miss out!
Follow AAUW Public Policy on Twitter, and read AAUW’s blog for discussion, information, and advocacy for women and girls.

The American Association of University Women (AAUW) empowers women and girls through advocacy, education, philanthropy, and research. Our nonpartisan, nonprofit organization has more than 150,000 members and supporters across the United States, as well as 1,000 local branches and 700 college and university partners. Since AAUW’s founding in 1881, our members have examined and taken positions on the fundamental issues of the day — educational, social, economic, and political.