A Better Balance

Our goal is to make our society more hospitable to families by promoting and supporting policies that would allow parents and caregivers to remain in the workforce without compromising the wellbeing of their families. We seek to reduce the stress of conflicting work-family demands and responsibilities and end discrimination against workers who care for their children or other family members. In addition, we will promote greater equality by reducing the wage gap between men and women with family responsibilities and encouraging men to take on a greater share of care work. Likewise, we will ensure that the work of providing care in the home, whether by family members or by professionals, is valued.

We employ a range of legal strategies to promote flexible workplace policies, end discrimination against caregivers and value the work of caring for families. These include working with legislators to draft laws and policies to protect working families, promoting self advocacy though outreach and education, and by defending the rights of our clients who reach out to us through our free and confidential legal helpline.

We lead the charge for policies that help families, including paid sick leave and family leave, flexible work, pay equity, and policies that combat discrimination based on pregnancy and family status. Our efforts, both in policy advocacy and direct services, help people who work outside and inside the home achieve a better balance between providing for their families and caring for them.

ABB helped lead the fight to secure paid family leave in New York State, a law that affects over 6 million workers beginning January 2018. We provide the legal expertise necessary to enact paid family leave in states around the country helping Washington state & Washington D.C. to pass laws during the past year.
-Millions of Americans – almost 40% of the workforce –lack a single paid sick day to use for themselves or their family. ABB helped to create a national movement for paid sick days & serves as the legal advisor for the movement. Our model law & legal advice have been used by virtually every campaign leading to the passage of paid sick time requirements in 12 states & 40 localities.
- Prior to 2012, only 6 states had stronger legal protections for pregnant worker than federal law provides. Now, with ABB's leadership, more than 24 states & 5 localities have passed laws ensuring fair treatment for pregnant workers, often unanimously & with bipartisan support.
- In 2009, we launched our Families @ Work Legal Clinic & helpline, to offer information, advice, & representation to those facing a crisis at work related to their own illness, pregnancy, or care for a loved one. In 2017, we launched a dedicated paid family leave hotline to answer questions about NY's new law.
Combating Abusive Scheduling Practices: ABB supports efforts to pass fair scheduling legislation, recently securing a major victory with the passage of NYC's broad fair work week legislation.
Caregiver Discrimination, Women's Equality, & Breastfeeding Rights: ABB spearheaded efforts to ban discrimination against family caregivers at work, ensure women's equality by increasing wage transparency, strengthening equal pay protections, & ensuring nursing mothers get break time & space needed to express breast milk at work.
Southern Office: ABB's Southern Office builds partnerships with civil rights groups, labor groups, health advocates & women's groups, raising awareness of the needs of Southern women & families & replicating our successful ABB advocacy model empowering communities in some of the most impoverished parts of the country.
LGBT Work Family Project: ABB works with advocates in more than 20 states on LGBT organizing & has helped campaigns write bills to expand recognition of diverse families. To date, we have helped enact broad family definitions in paid sick days laws in Rhode Island & in the nation's largest cities– NYC, Chicago & LA – as well as in Minneapolis & Saint Paul.
Defending Local Democracy: ABB is helping to lead an innovative, cross-movement national project dedicated to strengthening, protecting, & defending progressive local laws.
Advocacy in the Courts: ABB defends family-friendly policies when they are challenged in court & also actively engaged in litigation to shine a public spotlight on the problems that pregnant women face in the workplace & to ensure a progressive interpretation of laws involving the right to take time off for medical absences.