‘Equal Means Equal’: Documentarian speaks at college
At least that's what new mom
"The only way you would get paid for maternity leave, is if you have PTO (paid time off) or you filed for short-term disability," she said.
The Family and Medical Act, federal law requiring "obligated" companies to allow up to 12 weeks of unpaid maternity leave, passed in 1993.
Twenty-five years later, the
To supplement for the lack of income, some women may apply for short-term disability.
Lucky for Robinette, her company provides short-term disability insurance. However, she must first use all paid time off before applying.
After using a week's paid vacation, she was approved to receive four weeks' short-term disability. During that time, Robinette will only collect 60 percent of her regular pay.
At least seven weeks of Robinette's maternity leave will go completely unpaid.
Lopez recently spoke at the
A partnership between ACM,
Dozens of community members, city officials, area students and educators gathered at the theater for a special screening of the film, followed by a question and answer session with Lopez.
Lopez hopes the documentary will spark a movement, ultimately leading to the passage of the equal rights amendment to ensure women are protected under the
"The equal rights amendment is such a critical first step in providing women with basic civil and human rights under the constitution it just can't be ignored as the most important first step," Lopez said.
The amendment would guarantee equal rights for all
"I think it would kick in immediate universal child care," she said, "because our lawyers would prove that the situation, at the moment, is unfairly weighted with a gender bias, in terms of the unfairly of child care and how society handles that sort of thing.
One of those gender bias, Lopez said, is maternity leave.
"We would have to look at the way other countries handle kids, and not the way we do, where we kind of ignore the fact that they exist," she said.
Far from a new concept, the equal rights amendment was written by American suffragist
It only took about 50 years before the legislation passed both house of
But the amendment experienced new life in
'It's not very crazy," Lopez said about the amendment.
"It's just a matter that the forces of money don't want that to happen because they don't want to pay us and they want to keep us in our place and we have to finish this job -- Now," she said.
Follow staff writer
___
(c)2018 the Cumberland Times News (Cumberland, Md.)
Visit the Cumberland Times News (Cumberland, Md.) at times-news.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Medicare will require hospitals to post prices online
BRIEF: Pioneer Heritage Insurance recognized
Advisor News
Annuity News
Health/Employee Benefits News
Life Insurance News