Ending Hunger in America, 2014 Hunger Report Full Report | Page 73
CHAPTER 2
Waldfogel and McLanahan. More than four in 10 private sector workers—and more than 80
percent of low-wage workers—do not have paid sick days.9 Every developed country in the
world, except for the United States, provides new mothers—and often, fathers—with paid time
off to bond with their baby.10 In the United States, about 40 percent of workers are not even
guaranteed job-protected family leave that is unpaid.11
In other high-income countries, the law specifically permits workers to request flexible
scheduling, while in the United States, many workers are afraid of giving the impression that they have any sort of
work-family conflict. “Motherhood may entail a wage penalty
all on its own,” writes Heather
Boushey in an article for The
Future of Children. “A growing
body of research suggests that
mothers often experience explicit
discrimination because of their
roles as caregivers and their need
for workplace flexibility.”12
The stark economic conditions facing many families today
are aggravated by the inadequate
response of policymakers to
the predicament of millions
of people either unemployed
or underemployed by working
only part-time when they want
and need to work full-time. The
country has entered its fourth
year of recovery since the end of
the Great Recession—yet the unemployment and underemployment rates remain stubbornly high.
According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, the economy is not expected
to get close to full employment for years. Chapter 1 discussed how policymakers could spur
job growth through macroeconomic adjustments and government investments. Chapter 2
will focus on improving the quality of low-wage jobs, proposing core labor standards for all
so that the new economic reality of American life will begin to include a more supportive
work environment.
Congress
has raised the
minimum wage
only three times
in the last
30 years.
Richard Lord
Formal care for young
children is associated
with better cognitive
and school-readiness
outcomes.
The highest wage earners are four times more
likely than the lowest wage earners to receive paid
sick days, nearly twice as likely to have paid
vacation days, and five times as likely to have
access to paid family leave.3
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