Correction: Correct spelling is Sadrah Schadel, not Sarah Schadel. 9/24/2020 11:05 a.m., MST

RALEIGH, N.C. -- One North Carolina-based nonprofit has created a program to help small businesses incorporate family-friendly workplace practices in their reopening plans.

In the era of COVID-19, employers are grappling with maintaining productivity while they figure out how to support workers struggling to find child care or facing illness in families. The "Family Forward NC Rapid Response team" can connect employers to Human Resources experts who can guide them through policies that could work for their business - at no cost.

Lisa Finaldi, community engagement leader with the NC Early Childhood Foundation, said as the coronavirus continues to upend work, school and life, employers have major questions to consider.

"What are the benefits that will matter for a business who is trying to reopen strategically, is concerned about their employees' ability to return to work, and return to work more fully?" Finaldi said.

Prior to the COVID crisis, fewer than half of workers in the hospitality and food-service industries had any paid sick leave, and 60% of the country's food-service and retail workers reported going to work sick at times, because they lacked access to paid sick leave.

Finaldi added the pandemic has, perhaps for the first time, prompted many employers to consider offering real incentives for people to stay home when they're sick. She said Raleigh restaurant "SoCa" is an example of a company that recently increased wages and launched a 14-day paid sick-leave policy for employees.

"And they have decided to pay a livable wage, which is $15 a hour. And in order to do that, they are putting a 10% premium on the price of food - and they're telling customers why they're doing that," she said.

No Evil Foods is an Asheville-area company that makes plant-based meat alternatives. CEO Sadrah Schadel said the company has implemented a new parental leave policy for its more than 100 employees - and she's already seen the value of extending parental leave to new fathers.

"Small businesses have an opportunity to create the world that they want to see. And parental leave policies that are gender-inclusive promote gender equity at home and at work," Schadel said. "And I think that's a responsibility that we should all share."

Paid parental leave policies have been linked to reduced infant hospitalizations and a host of long-term health benefits for children.

A case before the U.S. Supreme Court could have implications for the country's growing labor movement. Justices will hear oral arguments in Starbucks versus McKinney today to determine if the bar should be raised for the National Labor Relations Board when it seeks to impose court-ordered injunctions on companies.

David Groves, communications director with the Washington State Labor Council, said the Supreme Court could further undermine the power of the NLRB, the independent federal agency that protects employees' rights.

"We already have weak labor laws in this country that have such minor penalties for breaking union organizing laws that companies routinely do it, and this is another opportunity for them to weaken labor laws even further," he argued.

The case involves Starbucks' firing of seven employees in Memphis during their union campaign in 2021. The coffee company says it rehired the workers and denies wrongdoing. If the justices rule in favor of Starbucks, it could make it harder for the NLRB to seek court orders.

Groves said the law states that workers have a right to organize unions in their workplace without coercion or retaliation from their employers.

"That's all fine and good but if the penalty's not significant enough, then they'll just go ahead and break that law and consider it the cost of doing business if they have to pay a fine two years down the road," he explained.

Groves said his and other labor organizations support the passage of the Protecting the Right to Organize or PRO Act in Congress, which would strengthen labor laws, including providing greater authority to the NLRB.


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The U.S. House has approved a measure to expand the Child Tax Credit. It would help 16 million children from low-income families in Indiana and nationwide. Despite bipartisan support, the bill is stalled in the Senate. Advocates praise the credit's pivotal role in combating child poverty, pointing to its effectiveness in the past, and especially during the pandemic, when it was broadly expanded.

Candace Baker, an Indianapolis mother of 4, said the previous tax-credit expansion worked for her family, and she wants it reinstated.

"Having a child, and I had to get on some government-assistance programs. My grandmother never did because she just didn't want that stigma over her, but I utilized those services when I had a child. I didn't want to either, but I'm like, I need this support," she explained.

Congress approved expanding the Child Tax Credit in 2021. However, the expansion has expired, leaving families without vital assistance. As the Senate deliberates, pressure mounts on lawmakers to prioritize the needs of struggling families and secure passage. Opponents believe taxpayers who don't work should not be eligible. Some Republicans also contend the provision may incentivize parents to leave the workforce.

Families reeling from the pandemic received between $300 and $360 per month per child from the expanded tax credit. It lifted 3.7 million children from poverty. Baker currently works for a food bank in Indianapolis where she says she is able to help neighbors in need and give back to the community.

"Being able to be a voice for those who have no voice - that is my motto. Even though where you start, you don't have to stay there. So, that is my biggest motto that I stand on: You may start here, you may be on government assistance, you may be in poverty, but that does not have to be your end game," she said.

Families who benefited from the increased aid were more than twice as likely to pay their overdue rent during the initial stages of the pandemic. The Child Tax Credit did not pass in time for this year's tax deadline, and its prospects for the future are uncertain.


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Washington joins a handful of states to do away with mandatory meetings for employees on political or religious matters.

Sometimes known as captive audience meetings, the gatherings were seen as a way for employers to give their opinions on subjects like unionization, and held potential consequences for employees who didn't attend. Lawmakers passed a bill this session allowing workers to skip the meetings without repercussions.

Sen. Karen Keiser, D-Des Moines, a sponsor of the bill, said we live in a divided society where emotions run high on political topics.

"This bill simply protects employees to have a real choice on whether or not to attend a meeting called by their boss to be told about some political or religious issue," Keiser explained.

Keiser pointed out the legislation is nonpartisan. For instance, employers could not force employees to attend anti-union meetings, but also could not force them to attend a meeting about the importance of reproductive rights. The bill takes effect June 6.

Keiser noted the bill likely got across the finish line this session because of the uptick in union organizing and support for labor. She added there are widely known stories of Starbucks managers, for example, requiring employees to attend anti-union meetings while the employees organized the workplace.

"Employees have been forced to attend meetings to listen to the boss or the employer basically tell them why they shouldn't join a union," Keiser observed.

Washington is the sixth state to pass a law prohibiting attendance at captive audience meetings. Connecticut, Maine, Minnesota and New York have passed similar laws in recent years. Oregon passed a law allowing workers to skip such meetings without repercussions in 2010.


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