Manhattan Beep Urges Flexible Work Skeds

By IVANNA MACHUCA

Comptroller Scott M. Stringer on Thursday urged New York State legislators to provide New Yorkers with family-friendly workplace policies after a report showed that fully half of New Yorkers don’t have flexible work schedules.

The report, “Families and Flexibility: Building the 21^st Century Workplace,” was based on workers in a broad range of industries and is also a follow up to Stringer’s report, “Families and Flexibility,” from June 2014. The online survey, while not scientific, asked workers in all five boroughs about the availability of flexible work arrangements, how comfortable they are requesting flexible schedules, the need for paid family leave and for “shift workers,” the predictability of their work schedules.

“No New Yorker should ever have to choose between keeping their job and caring for their family,” said Stringer. “With policies like Flextime, paid family leave and advance notification of schedules, we can give workers the tools they need to address their personal and professional responsibilities.”

The results showed that 80 percent of respondent support family leave, 59 percent were “uncomfortable” or “very uncomfortable” asking for Flextime and 71 percent said they would be more likely to ask flexibility if everyone in their workplace had the right to request.

The Comptroller also pushed legislators to pass the Paid Family Insurance Act. Sponsored by Assemblywoman Catherine Nolan and State Senator Joseph Addabbo, Jr., which would create a state-wide paid family leave insurance system funded by a small employee payroll deduction.

“Two countries in the world don’t have family leave: New Guinea and the United States,” said Stringer, referring to a study by the International Labor Organization. “That needs to change. Mothers and fathers should have the opportunity to bond with their newborns.”

The survey also found that for “shift workers,” whose schedules change on a week-to-week basis, 18 percent get their schedules only a day in advance making it difficult to set up arrangements with family members

. “Advance notification of schedules isn’t a perk-it’s a basic necessity for million of Americans who deserve to know when they need to clock I so that they plan their lives accordingly,” said Stringer. “Enacting this as standard workplace policy is long overdue.” This bill would require employers to provide schedules 72 hours in advance.