Call Us 919-240-4054Kevin* hurt his back lifting boxes at work and couldn’t do his job as a maintenance supervisor. He was concerned about losing his income and getting good treatment for his back. But Kevin was also concerned about keeping his health insurance. He has diabetes and high blood pressure, and his yearly medical exam is coming […]
FMLA
DOL expands FMLA to cover non-traditional families
The federal Department of Labor issued some important guidance regarding the coverage of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) as it applies to all sorts of unconventional families. The DOL made clear that FMLA rights to get time off to care for children do not require a biological relationship with the child. Rather, anyone […]
Op-ed calls for paid maternity and family leave
An op-ed in the Washington Post calls for paid family and maternity leave because the 12 weeks of unpaid leave provided by the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is grossly inadequate. Sharon Lerner traces the history of legislative efforts to provide paid leave to support workers’ families, the compromised law that is the FMLA, and […]
President signs expansion of FMLA for military families
Last week, President Obama signed the Fiscal Year 2010 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), an appropriations bill that includes an expansion of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) for military families. Specifically, it broadens the scope of caregiver and exigency leave for military families. Details should be available from the Department of Labor in short […]
Study shows that unions help make family-friendly workplaces
“Family-Friendly Workplaces: Do Unions Make a Difference?,” written by Jennifer MacGillvary of the Labor Center at the University of California-Berkeley and Netsy Firestein of the Labor Project for Working Families, concludes the unions lead to workplaces that, through policy and practice, promote a healthy and viable balance between work life and home life. Significantly, the study […]
Valerie speaks at 2008 AFL-CIO LCC conference on protecting injured workers
Valerie Johnson spoke at the 2008 Annual Conference of the AFL-CIO Lawyers Coordinating Committee (LCC), which was held in Seattle. Valerie’s talk was part of a session concerning health and safety for workers. She presented a paper, written with Narendra Ghosh, titled “How Can Unions Protect Injured Workers?” Summary: This paper discusses some common problems faced […]