Getting Parents Back to Work

By LORENA RAMIREZ

A group of city officials on Tuesday urged passage of a local bill to ease parents back into the work force after parental leave.

The legislation, called “Back to Work”, would expand the city’s Workforce1, a service that prepares and connects qualified candidates to job opportunities in the city through career centers, by offering technology training, public-private partnerships, specialized resume assistance, and expanded online information to help parents return to work.

“Finding a job in New York City is hard enough. But when you’ve been out of the workforce for a few years, raising a family, it becomes even more difficult,” said Erica Cohen, a parent who took two years off of grad school to raise her child. “It would be amazing to have a resource to help parents returning to the workforce overcome what feels like this huge obstacle to employment.”

Under New York City’s Family and Medical Leave Act, parents who work for the city, and have accumulated more than 1,250 hours within a year, may receive a maximum of 12 weeks of paid and/or unpaid leave.

“Women across all demographics report higher rates of taking time off to parent than men and difficulty re-entering the workforce when they are ready,” said Councilman Ben Kallos, one of the councilmembers sponsoring this bill.

“New York City must continue to adapt to modern needs by helping mothers return to work if they choose,” the Manhattan Democrat added.