“Glass ceiling” is a term that refers to an invisible
barrier in a workplace that cuts off women from promotions to high-level positions.
It’s very real; and it stems from stereotyping about women. Perhaps the biggest
stereotype is that women are not as committed to their work as men because
women have babies and are the main care-providers for children.
That brings us to “Obamacare”/ACA. Few people realize that
this law also requires an employer to provide reasonable accommodations for
nursing mothers to breast feed their babies or to express milk for them (I’ve
copied the regulation below).
So, the “repeal” movement also takes aim at this important
but little mentioned law. If that law is repealed, that’ll make it
harder for nursing moms to juggle a job and take the best care of her baby.
That’s a glass wall, not a ceiling, because some women may decide to leave work
due to lack of nursing accommodations.
Here are other emerging glass walls:
Government-Mandated Paid Maternity Leave: During
the Republican National Convention, Trump had Ivanka introduce the campaign
promise of six weeks of paid leave for moms after the birth of a child. That
regulation would cost employers about 90% of the minimum requirement for
employer paid health insurance under the ACA. If that campaign promise becomes
a reality, it’ll be a surprise. The glass wall part is this: For any woman who
factored this promise into her vote for Trump, she’ll see the promise over
there behind the glass—but she won’t actually enjoy the benefit.
The Public Silencing of Sen Elizabeth Warren: Women
are told to shut up at work (and probably elsewhere) with some regularity. In
EEOC v. Café Acapulco (2000), a female waitress complained to her supervisor
after the kitchen staff subjected her and female co-workers to offensive comments on a daily basis,
including (i) asking Quinones, “Do you want me to fuck you? I'll fuck you, and
give you some ninos,” “When are we going to go out?” and “I think what you need
is a good fuck”; and telling this waitress that he “wanted to flip his dick out
and hit her with it and sling her across the restaurant.” When she complained, her
boss “told her to shut up and that he didn’t want to hear about it.” The GOP
just sent a green light of approval for men to shut-up women
who complain at work (as Sen. Warren was doing). Being told to “shut up” in
another way of creating a glass wall for women at work.
….
Here is the nursing regulation:
Section 7(r) of the Fair Labor Standards Act – Break Time
for Nursing Mothers Provision
Effective March 23, 2010, the Patient Protection and
Affordable Care Act amended the FLSA to require employers to provide a nursing
mother reasonable break time to express breast milk after the birth of her
child. The amendment also requires that employers provide a place for an
employee to express breast milk.
Section 7 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C.
207) is amended by adding at the end the following:
(r)(1)
An employer shall provide—
a reasonable break time for an employee to express breast
milk for her nursing child for 1 year after the child’s birth each time such
employee has need to express the milk; and
a place, other than a bathroom, that is shielded from view
and free from intrusion from coworkers and the public, which may be used by an
employee to express breast milk.
(2)
An employer shall not be required to compensate an employee
receiving reasonable break time under paragraph (1) for any work time spent for
such purpose.
(3)
An employer that employs less than 50 employees shall not be
subject to the requirements of this subsection, if such requirements would
impose an undue hardship by causing the employer significant difficulty or expense
when considered in relation to the size, financial resources, nature, or
structure of the employer’s business.
(4)
Nothing in this subsection shall preempt a State law that
provides greater protections to employees than the protections provided for
under this subsection.
No comments:
Post a Comment