Day of Action As part of the Strong Start for Children Campaign led by the National Women’s Law Center, ZERO TO THREE is joining with organizations and individuals across the country to get people talking about the importance of early learning from birth to five. On Wednesday, June 5th, they encourage you to organize a Day of Action event in your program or community, using the power of your infant-toddler expertise and the voices of the families you serve to raise awareness about how early learning starts at birth. Whether you compose a tweet or help plan a rally, no action is too small. ZERO TO THREE developed an online toolkit to assist you in getting involved, which is available here. Join in highlighting the needs of infants and toddlers on this important Day of Action!
Family Values @ Work and the Labor Project Join Forces The Labor Project works with unions to implement family friendly work policies such as paid sick leave, family leave and job flexibility. The Labor Project will become a project of Family Values @ Work beginning in July. All of the Labor Project’s resources and its website will be housed at Family Values. The California Work and Family Coalition will continue its work as a partner of Next Generation. For more information click here.
Pregnant Workers Fairness Act The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) will be reintroduced soon in the 113 Congress. The PWFA is important because it will close some loop holes in the 1978 Pregnancy Discrimination Act. The current law requires employers to treat pregnant workers the same way they would treat other workers, but does not mean that they must make accommodations for pregnancy. Currently policies are gender neutral and pregnancy blind. This means that women who need accommodations can lose their jobs due to pregnancy related issues and may not have any legal rights to sue for discrimination even if they can afford a lawyer. PWFA would require employers to provide pregnant women the same level of accommodation they provide to people with disabilities. For more information click here.
The Federal Government Proposes New Day Care Regulations According to a report in the Associated Press, federal health officials are planning to propose new regulations at federally funded childcare centers nationwide. Currently, requirements for health, safety, and program quality vary from state to state along with the monitoring of the requirements. The new proposal would require states to follow the new regulations in order to receive federal funds. The proposed regulations include employee fingerprinting and background checks, first aid and CPR training, safe sleeping for babies and unannounced in person inspections. A quality rating system would also be implemented. For more information click here.
This News Roundup was compiled and co-authored by Karen Burch, M.A.
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