A bill that would extend workplace protections to pregnant women is gaining steam in the House. The list of co-sponsors of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, which was introduced in May, broke the 100 mark earlier this month, with 103 representatives currently signed on.
The bill would protect female employees with pregnancy-related work limitations, compelling employers to make reasonable accommodations and preventing them from firing pregnant women due to inhibited performance.
Pregnancy discrimination claims filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission have risen by a third over the past decade, according to the National Partnership for Women and Families, which is lobbying for the bill’s passage.
“It is deplorable that women are still being fired, forced out of their jobs and denied employment and promotion opportunities because they become pregnant,” said Debra L. Ness, the group’s president.
Seeing green
Shape-shifting rage episodes are apparently not considered a desirable attribute in a co-worker. That’s the verdict of a poll by the hourly job board Snagajob, which asked workers which superhero they’d least like to punch the clock with. The Hulk was deemed “most annoying” by a steep margin. Despite his chronic tardiness and healthy self-regard, Iron Man was a distant second.
Reviewing reviews
Are performance reviews worthwhile? The answer depends on whom you ask, according to a new survey. In a poll by the staffing firm Accountemps, chief financial officers overwhelmingly viewed them positively, with 94 percent saying they help improve employee performance. Workers weren’t so sure, however — more than a third deemed them not useful.
WAGE RAGE
A coalition of worker advocates is launching a campaign to raise the minimum wage, kicking it off with a national Day of Action tomorrow — which is the three-year anniversary of the last increase. In New York and other cities, workers will gather to call on corporations reaping record profits to boost pay on the bottom rungs.