USWCC Response to Department of Labor
I wanted to share the letter I sent to the Department of Labor in response to their outreach for the Family Medical Leave Act.
While we have been strong advocates for Fair Pay and Family Friendly work environments, including the FMLA, women business owners have been left behind. Did you know that in 2012, only 71 contracts have gone to women-owned firms totalling $3 million dollars? Businesses under the 8a program have received contracts in the amount of $2 Billion.
Women own one third of all businesses in the united states. They pay and promote fairly. It is through the growth of Women-Owned firms that we will truly end discrimination in the work force.
I ask that the Department of Labor assist us as well.
Thank you!
Margot Dorfman
Chief Executive Officer
U.S. Women's Chamber of Commerce™
The independent force behind an economic revolution in America.
Phone. 888-418-7922
Address: 700 12th Street, NW, Suite 700, Washington, DC 20005
Email.
margot@uswcc.org | Web.
http://www.uswcc.org
On Tue, Jun 26, 2012 at 6:11 PM, Furia, Karen - WB <Furia.Karen@dol.gov> wrote:
Today, women make up close to half of the nation’s workforce, and while we recognize the vital roles that women play in the economic security of the nation, we know that there is still much work to be done. Unfortunately, a disproportionate number of women continue to be concentrated in low-wage occupations such as food preparation, farming, and domestic work, where they earn wages that only meet or slightly exceed minimum wage. All too often, these women are unaware of their rights when it comes to issues such as equal pay and the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).
The Department of Labor has launched a variety of initiatives to advance the Administration’s goal of improving working conditions and increasing employment opportunities for women. For more information, please read a recent Women’s Bureau blog on this critical population of women workers.
Also, we invite you to join the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) tomorrow (June 27, 2012) at 2:00pm EDT for a webinar on the basic provisions of FMLA using their new FMLA Employee Guide http://www.dol.gov/whd/fmla/employeeguide.pdf. The webinar will walk guests through the challenging technical language of the FMLA and will answer the public’s general questions about their rights. To register for the webinar, visit http://mp163422.cdn.mediaplatform.com/163422/wc/mp/4000/15208/15213/16137/Lobby/default.htm?ref=ProductionTeamEmail
To find out more about how the Department is working for women, please visit www.dol.gov/wb or call 1-866-487-2365, and be sure to check out the links below for information on specific issues.
Karen Furia
National Office Coordinator
200 Constitution Ave NW S3002
Washington DC 20007
202-693-6753
furia.karen@dol.gov