San Francisco proposes paid sick leave for domestic workers, nannies, caregivers and gardeners

"If implemented, it would apply to about 10,000 people, a large portion women and immigrants who work in the cleaning, child care, non-medical elderly and disabled care, cooking and gardening areas."

San Francisco's paid sick leave program 

Kimberly Alvarenga, executive director of the California Domestic Workers Coalition, said the coronavirus pandemic highlighted the vulnerability of domestic workers because "if they didn't go to work, they didn't get paid."

Maternal Health Day of Action led by Vice President Kamala Harris

Vice +resident Kamala Harris has been fighting to end American women's pregnancy-related deaths for years Read the 19th newsletter article here. 

 “To this day, we still don’t know why she stopped breathing, and the doctors said they still don’t know,” Brown said at the White House’s first Maternal Health Day of Action on Tuesday. At the event attended by lawmakers, advocates and celebrities, Vice President Kamala Harris issued a nationwide call to action for private and public sectors to improve health outcomes for pregnant people in the United States, where pregnancy-related deaths occur at a higher rate than in other countries with similar incomes.

“This challenge is urgent and it is important and it will take all of us,” Harris said. “ And to put it simply, here’s how I feel about this: In the United States of America, in the 21st century, being pregnant and giving birth should not carry such great risk. But the truth — and this is a hard truth — women in our nation are dying before, during and after childbirth.”

Build Back Better Act looking to end subminimum wage for people with disabilities

 "Now, a little-known provision in the Build Back Better Act being negotiated in Congress could help catalyze the full federal repeal of the subminimum wage for people with disabilities. The proposed legislation would incentivize states to move away from the subminimum wage by providing grant funding to help companies offer those workers jobs alongside the rest of their workforce — paying minimum wage or higher. "  Read the 19th newsletter article by clicking here

"If the subminimum wage for people with disabilities is eventually eliminated, it will undo a law originally created to encourage employers to hire disabled veterans returning from the world wars and help them assimilate back to work. Unlike other subminimum wages — like the tipped wage for restaurant workers, for example, which is currently set at $2.13 an hour with the expectation that tips will push pay above the federal minimum wage of $7.25 — it has no floor in terms of how little employees can be paid. Disabled employees in workshop settings are paid based on productivity at a percentage of the normal wage for the job, which means they are paid anywhere from cents to a few dollars an hour. "

"Efforts to curb this subminimum wage would be felt most in marginalized communities. Women with disabilities generally earn significantly less than men and are less likely to be working in integrated employment settings earning regular wages. The rates of employment in integrated jobs are even lower for Black, Asian American and Pacific Islander, and Latinx people with disabilities. 

• Women with disabilities earn nearly $14,000 less annually than men with disabilities — in 2017, they averaged $31,855, compared with $45,475 for men, according to a report from the Institute for Community Inclusion at the University of Massachusetts Boston. 
• Only 16 percent of women with disabilities were in integrated employment settings, compared with 20 percent of men.
• Overall, people of color also were less likely to be in the regular workforce: Only 14 percent of Black people, 12 percent of Asian people and 9 percent of Pacific Islanders with disabilities had integrated jobs. 
• Employees with disabilities working at companies that pay the subminimum wage earn $3.34 per hour on average and work about 16 hours a week, according to a 2020 report from the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. (The data is not broken down by gender.) That means they are earning about $214 a month — 20 percent of the federal poverty threshold for one person."  

The Black Maternal Health Omnibus Act

According to a recent article published in an online newsletter black women are more likely to DIE during childbirth than any other women?

"The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention determined that between 2014 and 2017 non-Hispanic Black people experienced 41.7 pregnancy-related deaths per 100,000 live births. That’s compared with a ratio of 28.3 deaths per 100,000 live births for non-Hispanic Indigenous American and Alaskan Native people,13.8 deaths per 100,000 for Asian and Pacific Islander people, 13.4 deaths for non-Hispanic White people and 11.6 deaths for Hispanic or Latino people."  

According to The 19th"  an online newsletter ".... solutions recommended by experts that can support the health and economic needs for pregnant and postpartum people. When it comes to policy, the paper cites the Black Maternal Health Omnibus Act of 2021, a 12-bill package spearheaded by Congresswoman Lauren Underwood. Last month, President Joe Biden signed the first piece of legislation from the package. The set of bills pushes for a holistic approach to addressing maternal health gaps that include increasing research and data collection, designating a task force to develop a strategy to address social determinants of maternal health, investing in a diverse workforce dedicated to maternal health, and extending the postpartum eligibility for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program."

Are you prepared to be your parent's caregiver?

The shift from being your parent’s “child,” albeit an adult one, to being their caregiver can be jarring, but it’s a role many adults take on as their parents age.

Today, approximately 53 million Americans — more than one in five — provide care for a family member, most often a parent or loved one over age 50. Their responsibilities can cover a wide range of tasks, from helping with activities of daily living, to providing some medical care or managing financial, legal and medical decisions.

Understanding and preparing for the responsibilities can help you take better care of your loved ones — and yourself. The best time to prepare is before your loved ones require assistance. Here are important areas to consider when looking ahead at your role as family caregiver. Click on the link below for guidance in this new role:

 CAREGIVER FOR YOUR PARENTS