CBA Record Oct. 2015

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CELEBRATINGWORKING PARENTS DAY WITH NEW BLOG
Helping You Manage the Balancing Act
By Trisha Rich
The Young Lawyers Section for-
mally launched a new community
outreach initiative in celebration
of Working Parents Day, September 16.
The new blog–Balancing Act: A Guide for
Working Parents–is dedicated to providing
working parents with easily accessible,
much-needed information. The blog pro-
vides insights about important laws and
regulations, guidance and parenting tips
for balancing personal and professional
responsibilities, articles and news items
impacting the lives of working parents, and
other special announcements that may be
helpful or of interest.
In addition to regular blog posts, other
useful resources and reference materials
address events, fun/travel/entertainment,
legal/governmental sites, and resources
for working parents. The blog will focus
on maternity and paternity leave policies,
federal and state family leave laws and
regulations, child care related resources,
applicable legal publications, and other
guidance of interest. The concept of the
blog was simply to make it easier for
working lawyer parents, as well as working
parents in general, to have ready access to
important information that most of us will
need at some point in our lives.
In 2015, Catalyst reported the following
insights regarding working parents:
• By far, the most common arrangement
today is for married parents in dual-
income families with children under 18
to work.
• More than 40% of mothers in 2014
were the primary breadwinners for
households.
• Companies offering paid paternity
leave have declined from 17% in 2010
to 12% in 2014, and 86% of fathers
reported they would not use paternity
leave unless at least 70% of their salaries
were paid.
• Likewise, the number of companies
offering paid maternity leave policies
declined from 17% in 2010 to 12% in
2014.
• In 2014, the Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission received
3,400 complaints of pregnancy-based
discrimination.
• American businesses lose $3 billion
annually d ue to absenteeism related to
family care giving issues.
The blog seeks to help working par-
ents gain a greater understanding of key
concerns, such as employer parental leave
policies, flex-time considerations, changing
attitudes toward men’s and women’s roles in
the family, stay-at-home parent vs. working
one, and what we do to be good lawyers
as well as good parents. The blog also will
provide personal stories and experiences
from working parents striving to balance
responsibilities at home and at work.
The blog results from the 2014-2015
work conducted by a committee led by
former YLS Chair, Mary Curry. The com-
mittee determined the focus and scope
of the blog; developed original materials
posted on issues of critical importance,
including draft maternity and paternity
leave policies; created summaries of
family and medical leave laws and iden-
tified applicable federal and state legal
resources; pulled together recommended
child care data; and worked to determine
how best to staff, maintain, and launch the
blog. Moving forward, Helena Livitz and
Tracy Brammeier will serve as YLS Special
Project Coordinators to manage the blog
in conjunction with a group of volunteer
working parent bloggers that will ensure
that the information is relevant, updated,
and appropriate for posting.
12 OCTOBER 2015
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