November 18, 2021

Chamber of Mothers Spreads Awareness and Advocacy for Paid Family Leave

       

Chamber of Mothers is a newly formed group by moms and for moms. Chamber of Mothers is comprised of lawyers, advocates, and leaders advocating for the interests of moms, with their first goal to secure federal paid family leave.

Congress is in the midst of negotiating the Build Back Better Bill, legislation proposed by President Joe Biden to help America rebuild in the wake of COVID-19. The legislation is largely broken into three categories:

  • The American Rescue Plan (a COVID-19 relief package);
  • The American Jobs Plan (an infrastructure proposal intended to aid in the reduction of climate change), and;
  • The American Families Plan (a social policy focusing on welfare and social services funding).

Chamber of Mothers is currently focused on the American Families Plan, specifically the proposed federal funding for paid family leave. Right now, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is the only federal legislation related to family leave and fails to financially compensate mothers and family members who are eligible utilize the leave policy. President Biden originally proposed 12 weeks of paid leave, and Congress completely cut paid leave from the plan altogether. After much back and forth, Democrats reintroduced four weeks of paid family leave back into the proposal.

In the wake of this addition, the Chamber took to social media, spreading awareness on the need to keep federal paid family leave. They utilized #savepaidleave and #buildbackbleeding to build and track support of the movement. In the coalitions’ inaugural post, they created a symbol highlighted above “[t]he shape that the hands are making evokes the shape of the vagina, the entrance to the womb where life is formed. The hands are the union of two as one, and conjure the helping hands and village of support needed for new mothers and families.” This image spread throughout thousands and posts and a myriad of communities highlighting the need for federal support for mothers. The group is eager to grow and encourages those interested to enter their information on their website in addition to staying abreast of their social media pages.

Written by Law Clerk Katina Smith

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Updates to New York State Whistleblower Law

January 5, 2022
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On October 28, 2021, Governor Kathy Hochul signed an amendment expanding the New York Whistleblower Law—§740 of the Labor Law, increasing workplace protections against retaliation for private-sector employees while increasing employer liability.

NY State Mask Mandate Returns

December 22, 2021
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In light of the Omicron threat, New York State has resumed its mask mandate, stipulating that all businesses that are open to the public and do not require proof of full vaccination must require everyone to be masked.

Here’s Why Justice May Demand That Harvey Weinstein Goes Free

December 20, 2021
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On Wednesday, December 15, the Appellate Division, First Department of New York State heard arguments regarding the appeal of Harvey Weinstein’s criminal conviction for rape and assault. Read Senior Associate Alex Berke’s Daily Beast article about why overturning Weinstein’s conviction may be the just thing to do.

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