Return to EPI Newsroom | Browse news by TOPIC | Browse archived news by DATE | Search archived news releases by KEYWORD

NewsFlash: June 12, 2007

Thursday hearing on family-friendly work policies

Many countries surpass the United States in such areas as extended maternity and paternity leave, increased access to child care, and more paid sick and vacation time. A Thursday Joint Economic Committee hearing – convened by U.S. Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY) – will probe why, as it unveils a new Government Accountability Office report on how the United States lags far behind other industrialized nations in providing policies that support working parents and their children.

Janet Gornick, professor and director of the Luxembourg Income Study, will be among the experts testifying on how American businesses, workers, and the overall economy would benefit from improved family-friendly workplace policies. Gornick, along with EPI vice-president Ross Eisenbrey and Alexandra Heron, authored the report The Work-Family Balance , which analyzed work-time policies in Europe, Japan and the United States and was presented at the May forum for EPI’s Agenda for Shared Prosperity .

WHAT: Joint Economic Committee Hearing — “Importing Success: Why Work-Family Policies from Abroad Make Economic Sense for the U.S.”

WHEN: Thursday, June 14, 2007 – 10:00 a.m.

WHERE: 216 Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, DC

WHO: Experts including Janet Gornick, Professor of Political Science, Baruch College, City University of New York, Director of the Luxembourg Income Study, and the co-author of Families That Work

For interviews or more information, contact the EPI Communications Department at 202-775-8810 or news@epi.org.

Click here  for how to describe EPI.