CBA Record

CELEBRATINGWORKING PARENTS DAY WITH NEW BLOG Helping You Manage the Balancing Act By Trisha Rich T he Young Lawyers Section for- mally launched a new community outreach initiative in celebration In 2015, Catalyst reported the following insights regarding working parents:

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.

• 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

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.

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12 OCTOBER 2015