Family Definitions

New Jersey Passes Broad Expansion & Improvements to State Leave Laws

January 31, 2019
Paid Family Leave

We’re proud to have worked closely with coalition partners to get this bill passed and will continue to push for progressive paid leave legislation around the country so that everyone can take the paid leave they need.

Chosen Family 2018 Year in Review: We Won’t Rest Until All Families are Protected

December 19, 2018
LGBTQ

Although families are incredibly diverse, our laws and policies often define family relationships narrowly. In 2018 A Better Balance worked with partners across the country to ensure that all family members, regardless of biological or legal ties, would be covered by these important workplace protections.

Proud and Powerful: LGBTQ Union Members and their Allies Gather in Phoenix

August 27, 2018
LGBTQ

Overall, the conference was an especially important moment to act in solidarity with our partners in the labor movement following the Supreme Court’s anti-worker rights decision in Janus v. AFSCME earlier this summer.

Southern Progress: San Antonio Becomes the Second Texas City to Guarantee Paid Sick Time

August 17, 2018
City Laws, Defending Local Democracy, Paid Sick Time

San Antonio now joins more than 40 states and cities across the country in passing a paid sick time law. With the passage of San Antonio’s ordinance, workers in seven of the country’s eight most populous cities now have the legal right to earn paid sick time!

Celebrating Victories, Energizing for the Road Ahead: Equality Federation Leadership Conference 2018

July 31, 2018
Defending Local Democracy, LGBTQ, State Laws, Uncategorized

One of the many high points at the conference was hearing about the incredible cross-movement work happening at the local level, even in the face of state interference.

Beware: Congress’s “WorkFlex” Bill is an Attack on Workers, Families, and Local Democracy

July 23, 2018
Defending Local Democracy, Fair & Flexible Work, LGBTQ, National Laws, Paid Family Leave, Paid Sick Time

Congress's “Workflex in the 21st Century” bill will undermine robust state and local paid sick leave and fair scheduling laws as well as efforts nationwide to ensure that workers can take time off to care for their loved ones.

FMLA 25: States are Expanding the meaning of Family

June 12, 2018
LGBTQ, Paid Family Leave

The way our laws define family sends a signal about who our country sees and values. But these choices are more than symbols—they have powerful practical consequences for real people’s ability to care for those they love.

Recognizing All Families: Innovative Work from New Mexico and Georgia

June 5, 2018
LGBTQ

This report, Recognizing All Families to Expand Our Movements: Insights from the Family Justice Network, shows that change is possible when people organize around the widely-shared value of family.

Recognizing All Families: Innovative Work from New Mexico and Georgia

June 5, 2018

Momentum in the Midwest: Paid Sick and Safe Time Advances in Minnesota & Michigan

June 1, 2018
City Laws, Paid Sick Time

Duluth’s paid sick time law will take effect on January 1, 2020. It is the 10th paid sick time law in the U.S. that allows workers to use earned sick time to care for chosen and extended family members, including loved ones who are the equivalent of family even without a biological or legal relationship.