Tag Archives: United States

Paid Sick Leave means more workers will be able to maintain Employment!

Dear Friend,

Today marks the official start of new rights for workers in New York City: the Earned Sick Time Act is in effect!

That means that workers in New York City can now begin earning time to be used towards 40 hours of paid sick time in businesses with 5 or more employees—or 40 hours of unpaid but job-protected time in smaller businesses. A Better Balance fought hard, together with our partners and supporters, to ensure that the final version of the law would include as many workers as possible. If you look around on subways and buses, you’ll soon notice a bold new advertising campaign by the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs to reach the millions of workers who are now covered by the law.

At A Better Balance, we’ve been busy conducting trainings and taking calls from employees and employers who are already wondering about how the law will affect them. With our ear to the ground, we have been able to tell policymakers what issues are likely to take center stage as enforcement of the new law begins, and we’ve translated our knowledge into targeted outreach materials and resources:

Check out our new brochure and frequently asked questions on the law. Let us know if you’d like us to send you some copies.
Take a look at our website to find more resources for workers and employers as we continue to update it.
Call our free legal hotline at 212-430-5982 if you have questions or if you’d like us to conduct a training on the law for workers or employers.

Keep an eye out for more to come soon! And please remember to keep your calendar open for our annual Spring Celebration on the evening of May 5. We have a lot to celebrate!

As always, thank you for your support,

Sherry, Dina, Phoebe, Jared, Elizabeth, Liz, Risha, & Rachel

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Give America a Raise

04/02/2014 Nativegrl77

By CAP Action War Room

Six Things You Didn’t Know About The Minimum Wage

This week and next, a coalition of minimum wage activists in favor of raising the federal minimum wage to $10.10 are taking their message of “Giving America a Raise” on the road with an 11 state bus tour. They have already made stops in Maine, New Hampshire, Connecticut and New York. This issue couldn’t be more important for working families across the country and creating an economy that works for everyone.

Right now, a parent working full time earning the minimum wage and raising two children is making poverty wages. She struggles to make ends meet and can barely afford basics such as school supplies for her children. But with a higher minimum wage, workers will have more money to spend on basic needs, money that will go back into the local economy, which in turn gives businesses more customers—helping them to hire more workers. Raising low-end wages will also save taxpayers $4.6 billion a year on nutritional assistance programs.

Raising the minimum wage would be a critical step in ensuring that the economy is working for everyone. It will provide Americans who work hard a better opportunity to get ahead while giving the economy a needed shot in the arm. It is past time for Congress to act. The federal minimum wage has not been raised in more than five years. Right here are six facts explaining why Congress needs to raise the wage to $10.10 an hour: