Photo Courtesy of Rep. Meng’s Office
“Working parents have faced enormous challenges during the pandemic, and we must make sure that their working environments are well suited for them as they make their way back to the workforce,” Rep. Meng said.
By Forum Staff
U.S. Rep. Grace Meng (D-Flushing) announced Friday that she introduced legislation which aims to promote family-friendly policies in the workplace to help parents who left their jobs due to the COVID-19 crisis, return to the workforce following the pandemic.
Since the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak, many parents have been forced to leave the workforce in order to meet the unprecedented demands of caregiving, remote schooling, housework and other family responsibilities. This has especially impacted mothers, particularly moms of color, as there are some two million fewer women – including one million fewer moms – in the labor force than there were before the pandemic began.
Meng’s bill, the Honoring Family-Friendly Workplaces Act, seeks to motivate businesses to provide a healthier and easier work-life balance for hardworking families.
“We must do more to promote positive work environments so that working parents are able to return to the labor force as soon as possible, and my legislation would be a major boost in implementing policies to help in that critical effort,” Meng said. “Working parents have faced enormous challenges during the pandemic, and we must make sure that their working environments are well suited for them as they make their way back to the workforce. We cannot leave working parents out of our nation’s recovery as we rebound from the pandemic. We must assist them so that they can resume and advance their careers and once again receive a paycheck without sacrificing the needs of their children and families. Nobody should have to choose between their work or their family.”
Specifically, Meng’s measure would direct the U.S. Department of Labor to establish a national certification program that recognizes exemplary family-friendly business policies. It would recognize and incentivize employers who commit to helping employees better juggle their family obligations and work responsibilities.
This certification program is intended to be similar to the EPA’s ENERGY STAR program that helps consumers identify energy efficient products, and would evaluate businesses on a number of policies, including:
- Paid sick days for workers;
- Child care subsidies;
- Lactation support;
- Reasonable accommodations for pregnant employees;
- Assistance paying for or referring workers to fertility or adoption services;
- Paid family leave of at least 12 weeks per year; and/or
- Flexible hours – or remote work policies – once parents return to work after a birth, adoption, or foster care placement.
“By redesigning and investing in the workplace to be family-friendly, we are ultimately strengthening the wellbeing of children and families, businesses, and the economy,” Meng said. “My measure is a commonsense initiative to improve the lives of working families in New York and all across America, and I urge all of my colleagues in the House support it.”
“We have a once in a generation opportunity to reimagine the future of work and rebuild our economy in a way that is inclusive, equitable, and values our labor for parents, especially for moms,” added Reshma Saujani, founder of Marshall Plan for Moms and Girls Who Code. “The Honoring Family-Friendly Workplaces Act ensures that we not only get working parents back to work, but that they can thrive in their careers.”
