April 25, 2023

President Biden Signs Sweeping Executive Order For Care

The Biden administration has just announced a comprehensive and far-reaching executive order intended to improve care for all Americans. The order comprises a total of 50 directives aimed at nearly every cabinet-level federal agency, including the Departments of Defense and Education, Veterans Affairs, and the Office of Personnel Management.

The order seeks to improve working conditions and wages for myriad care providers, such as home care workers and early childhood educators as well as promote affordability and accessibility of care for all working Americans. This is especially welcome news for home care providers, who experience little job security, outright wage theft, and poor working conditions. It also has the potential to alleviate childcare pressures which have only increased since the outset of the pandemic.

Another facet of this order, which has significant ramifications for our practice and area of expertise is the directive aimed at the Department of Labor, which is being tasked with creating a sample contract for home care providers. This contract will enumerate both parties’ rights and responsibilities, allowing them to understand and more effectively comply with the law.

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Is the Third Stimulus the Beginning of a Guaranteed Family Income?

March 11, 2021
Gender Discrimination
Tucked into 2021’s $1.9 trillion stimulus package is a provision that could have life-changing effects for families with children: an expansion and reworking of the child tax credit. Championed solo for nearly two decades by Representative Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, the idea to expand the child tax credit has gained a new lease on life and more admirers as the pandemic and lockdowns have had a deleterious impact on families and children.

“She-cession” Global, Not Local

March 10, 2021
Gender Discrimination
Whether it is increasing the number of hours spent working, picking up the slack in domestic life, being forced to quit to take care of children or other family, or leaving the job market entirely, women in the US have taken the brunt of the pandemic’s resulting economic crisis, so much so that it has been dubbed the first “she-cession.” The Financial Times has released a survey demonstrating that this is an issue for women internationally, not just in the United States.

Alex Berke Quoted in New York Times Article on the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act

March 5, 2021
Pregnancy Discrimination
The pandemic may be creating a path for the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, which was first introduced in 2012 to become law. This law will help clarify and define the rights of women to receive accommodations in the workplace.

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