A Better Balance (ABB) is a national legal advocacy organization that uses the power of the law to advance justice for workers, so they can care for themselves and their loved ones without jeopardizing their economic security. Our expert legal team combats discrimination against pregnant workers and caregivers and advances supportive policies like paid sick time, paid family and medical leave, fair scheduling, and accessible, quality childcare and eldercare. When we value the work of providing care, which has long been marginalized due to sexism and racism, our communities and nation are healthier and stronger. We remain steadfast in working to dismantle the intersectional forms of injustice that contribute to the structural inequality working families in this country face, including but not limited to, gender injustice, racial injustice, economic injustice, health injustice, and injustice against immigrants, LGTBQIA communities, and people with disabilities, and are seeking candidates that are committed to this work.<\/p>\n
Since our founding, A Better Balance has been working to value the labor of caregiving and to shift the debate over work-family issues from those that center the concerns of white, professional workers to a focus on the needs of low-wage workers and workers of color. We approach our work around the country with these values at the helm. Ensuring families of color have access to strong work-family policies\u2014especially BIPOC workers who are currently the least likely to have access to these policies due to centuries of institutionalized racism, systemic barriers to economic mobility, and pervasive discrimination\u2014is a core principle of ABB\u2019s work.<\/p>\n
The organization has fought for and won new paid leave policies, important pregnancy and caregiver protections, breastfeeding accommodations, inclusive protections for all families, including LGBTQ families, and victories on other economic justice issues throughout the country. Our advocacy work and legal efforts have gained national recognition in dozens of outlets including The New York Times, Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal. We are dedicated to lifting up the voices of our clients, who are predominantly low-wage working women of color, and those most directly affected by our policy work. Our free and confidential helpline provides legal assistance and information to low-wage workers.<\/p>\n
ABB is based in New York City and maintains a Southern office in Nashville, TN and offices in Denver, CO and Washington, DC.<\/em><\/p>\n Our Southern Office<\/strong> focuses on the issues affecting working families in the Southeast United States, where poverty rates for women and families, particularly women and families of color, are among the highest in the country and where legal protections are often scarce. Pregnant workers across the South, especially in low-wage and physically demanding jobs are forced out of their jobs when they need a modest accommodation to keep working. Workers of color are the least likely to have access to paid leave and other critical workplace rights to help them to care for their families without risking their economic security. Our Southern work thus focuses on remedying these legal gaps by enforcement and education as well as working to pass pregnant workers fairness laws, paid family and medical leave, and paid sick days laws across the Southeast and pushing back against policies that harm working families in the region including attacks on progressive local policies.<\/p>\n In New York<\/strong>, where we are headquartered, we have been leaders in many successful campaigns both in the city\/state and across the country, including on paid family and medical leave laws, the fight to guarantee earned sick time to millions of workers across the country, pregnant workers fairness laws, which ensure that pregnant workers are not pushed out of their jobs when they need a modest accommodation to stay healthy, caregiver and lactation anti-discrimination laws, and fair workweek laws. Following legislative campaigns, we are working on effective implementation of these laws, creating materials, doing outreach to low-income communities, and prioritizing representation of low-income workers of color who are being denied rights we helped secure.<\/p>\n Our DC Office<\/strong> focuses on translating our legal expertise and uplifting worker voices to advance federal policies that advance justice for working families across the country who are caring for themselves and loved ones and want to maintain their economic security. Our key federal priorities include passage of a comprehensive Paid Family and Medical Leave program, protections for pregnant workers, a national paid sick time law, access to break time & space for breastfeeding workers, addressing the Black maternal health crisis, guaranteeing fair and predictable work schedules & enhancing rights of part-time workers, strengthening federal anti-discrimination protections, and more.<\/p>\n Potential projects in the Southern Office<\/strong> could focus on:<\/p>\n \u00b7 Increasing the power and influence of Black women in the South using advocacy tools, Know Your Rights campaigns, legislative reform, and partnering with grassroots organizations;<\/p>\n \u00b7 Enforcing new pregnant workers fairness laws in the South including in Louisiana, Kentucky, South Carolina, and Virginia; educating and empowering low-wage workers and communities of color about those laws;<\/p>\n \u00b7 Providing direct services to low-wage workers, especially workers of color, in particular industries or populations with uniquely Southern issues affecting working families;<\/p>\n \u00b7 Developing a mobile clinic to serve a particular population, such as an immigrant\/refugee population;<\/p>\n \u00b7 Public education and enforcement of existing federal legal protections, such as pregnancy discrimination, family & medical leave, and breastfeeding protections for working families in the South; and\/or<\/p>\n \u00b7 Addressing the needs of working parents who lack quality, affordable, and accessible child care.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Potential projects in the NYC office<\/strong> could focus on education and enforcement of laws both in NY and elsewhere across the country, particularly as they impact low-wage workers and communities of color:<\/p>\n \u00b7 Pregnancy accommodation laws;<\/p>\n \u00b7 Lactation laws;<\/p>\n \u00b7 Paid sick time laws;<\/p>\n \u00b7 NYC Fair Workweek Law;<\/p>\n \u00b7 Caregiver discrimination laws; and\/or<\/p>\n \u00b7 Paid family and medical leave laws.<\/p>\n The NYC fellow could also focus on expanding laws and policies in the following areas:<\/p>\n \u00b7 Paid family and medical leave or paid sick time campaigns around the country;<\/p>\n \u00b7 Pregnancy accommodation campaigns around the country<\/p>\n \u00b7 LGBTQ work-family issues;<\/p>\n \u00b7 Quality, affordable, accessible child care<\/p>\n \u00b7 Defending local, progressive laws from state and federal interference (preemption); and\/or<\/p>\n \u00b7 Other issues related to expanding work\/family laws and policies in New York State and\/or nationally.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Potential projects in the DC Office<\/strong> could focus on federal legislative advocacy in conjunction with direct services work to empower our clients with our NY office on topics including:<\/p>\n \u00b7 Pregnancy accommodations<\/p>\n \u00b7 Paid family and medical leave<\/p>\n \u00b7 Lactation accommodations;<\/p>\n \u00b7 Paid sick time;<\/p>\n \u00b7 Caregiver discrimination laws; and\/or<\/p>\n \u00b7 Fair and predictable scheduling<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Qualifications:<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00b7 Law degree required by May 2022, bar admission in NY or TN by Fall 2022 preferred.<\/p>\n \u00b7 Demonstrated commitment to social justice, work\/family law and policy, gender and women\u2019s rights, civil rights, and\/or advocacy for low-income populations and ending racial, gender, health, and economic injustice.<\/p>\n \u00b7 Demonstrate a commitment to diversity within the office using an approach that values all individuals and respects differences in regards to race, ethnicity, age, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, religion, disability and socio-economic circumstance<\/p>\n \u00b7 Superior written and oral communication, advocacy, legal research, and analytic skills. Experience writing for legal and non-legal audiences a plus.<\/p>\n \u00b7 Self-motivated with demonstrated problem solving, prioritizing, time management, team-building, and organizational skills.<\/p>\n \u00b7 Comfort and familiarity with small non-profit environment, ability to use limited resources efficiently and effectively, ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment.<\/p>\n \u00b7 Experience working with diverse communities, particularly communities of color.<\/p>\n \u00b7 Experience with the community you propose to serve a plus.<\/p>\n \u00b7 Spanish, Mandarin, Cantonese, Bengali, Haitian Creole, French, Somali, and\/or Korean fluency are a plus.<\/p>\n Funding and Benefits<\/strong><\/p>\n This position requires external funding, meaning it is not paid for by ABB and comes from another source. Some potential sources of external funding include the Skadden Foundation, Equal Justice Works, and Justice Catalyst.\u00a0 If you are selected by ABB as a fellowship candidate, we will then work together to put together a project proposal.<\/p>\n ABB offers a flexible and supportive work environment, with generous vacation, sick, and family leave policies. A Better Balance has an excellent benefits package, including health and dental insurance; paid vacation, sick, and personal time. We are committed to \u201cwalking our talk\u201d and encourage a healthy work\/life balance for all employees.<\/p>\n