Hits and Misses
HIT: Sixty years ago, there were fewer women in the workforce, and those who did work often quit their jobs once they became pregnant. Now, 77% of women in their prime working years are employed, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, and many of those women will stay on the job until the birth of their children. That’s why legislation like the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act is necessary. it was recently enacted after being championed by Pennsylvania U.S. Sen. Bob Casey for more than a decade. It builds on previous protections that had been put in place for pregnant workers, and mandates that reasonable accommodations be made for pregnant women in the workplace, such as allowing additional bathroom breaks, stools for workers whose job demands a lot of standing, and being excused from strenuous activities. The new law has won the endorsement of groups as diverse as the American Civil Liberties Union, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Retail Federation and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. At an event in Pittsburgh this week, Casey said, “We had to fill the gap … that employers could exploit (by) forcing that pregnant worker to choose between the job and a healthy pregnancy.”
MISS: Americans who are hostile to immigration frequently suggest that new arrivals snatch away jobs that could be filled by people who are already here. But in a recent report on CNBC on American immigration policies and how they could be hindering economic growth, the cable network pointed out that there were 9 million job openings in the United States in June, with 5.8 million unemployed workers. The simple math is that there are more than 3 million jobs available than there are people to fill them. And the consequences of not allowing younger workers in the country would include slower economic growth and additional strains on Social Security and Medicare if the population continues to shrink and age. This underscores the urgent need for long overdue reforms to our immigration system.
MISS: If you have young children and are in the workforce, day care can be a source of frustration. Costs are high – in some cases equaling or exceeding that of college tuition – and spots can be tough to come by. In some cases, a child might be on a waiting list for a year or longer. The day care situation for many families across the country could get a whole lot tougher at the end of the month. That’s when federal pandemic relief funding for child care centers runs out, and unless Congress approves additional funding, it could displace 3 million children from day care and lead to thousands of child care centers closing. The knock-on effects would include moms and dads needing to leave the workforce or cut their hours if they can’t find a day care spot for their child. In Pennsylvania, the Century Foundation forecasts that more than 150,000 children could lose child care and almost 3,000 programs could close without additional funding. Bloomberg columnist Kathryn Anne Edwards put it this way: “Ultimately, only sustained government intervention can provide Americans with the child care it needs. Until its leaders recognize this and act, the entire country will pay the price – in missing workers, struggling families and prosperity lost.”