Newsroom Category: Voices From The Clinic

Stories from Our Helpline: Workers Excluded from Federal Paid Leave Protections

Through our free legal helpline, we’ve been hearing from workers across the country who are facing economic insecurity and struggling to care for themselves and their loved ones due to the COVID-19 crisis. The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) provides critical emergency paid sick leave and paid family leave rights for many workers during this pandemic—but too many workers, including those at large corporations, are excluded from the law.

Voices from the Clinic: Jessica

Given no explanation, and misled by her employer to believe that her freelancer title meant she was not eligible to receive any paid family leave benefits, Jessica reached out to ABB’s free and confidential legal helpline. We helped her understand her legal protections, including her right not to be terminated because she took leave under New York’s paid family leave law, and we coached her on how she could advocate for herself to her employer.

Voices from Our Clinic: Jetaun

While Jetaun was given a room to pump, the room was shared with another company, and a sign placed on the door was insufficient to ensure her privacy (which is often medically necessary for milk expression). At one point, a male employee entered without knocking while she was pumping. Jetaun was very upset by this violation of her privacy, and she brought the issue to a manager, to no avail.

Our Callers: Highlight from the Paid Family Leave Helpline

Late last year, Allison* reached out to us with questions about maternity leave. She works for an engineering company in NYC and was having trouble figuring out how NY paid family leave and FMLA interacted with her sick time and vacation days. We walked her through what rights she had and how they interacted with her existing time off. Earlier this month, Allison reached out to us again to let us know she was able to take all the leave she needed.

Walmart’s Absence Policy Forces Pregnant Workers to Choose between a Healthy Pregnancy and a Pink Slip

Leigha Klopp was pregnant and working at Walmart. One morning, she woke up vomiting blood. She called the store to tell them that she was going to the hospital, on the advice of her obstetrician, and that she would need to miss work. When she returned for her next scheduled shift, Walmart fired her. We filed a class-action lawsuit against Walmart on behalf of Ms. Klopp and another former Walmart employee.
Back To Top