South By North Strategies, Ltd.

A major report from the North Carolina Justice Center details “workplace policies that promote family economic security, such as paid sick days and family leave insurance, allow workers to keep much-needed wages and provide job protection when inevitable life events arise.”  From the report …

Despite the job losses of recent years, today most families are headed by working adults, and many of these workers, women and men, have child-care responsibilities, elder-care responsibilities, or both. Overall, almost  one-third of all households in north Carolina include children under the age of 18, and the percentage of  households with all parents in the labor force actually increased slightly from 2007 to 2010.
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But work-family policies are not just about families with children. A recent study found that in 2009, almost 1.2  million North Carolinians cared for adult family members, partners, or friends suffering from chronic illness…. Almost 900,000 North Carolina households included a person aged 65 years or older in 2010. By 2030, North Carolina’s population of people aged 65 and older is expected to grow by 80 percent, meaning that more workers will be looking after loved ones who require care.
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Today’s workplace policies were created for a labor force that does not exist— one built on the concept of a sole  male breadwinner and a female homemaker who tended to family responsibilities and caregiving needs. Though this concept was already problematic when major federal policies governing the workplace were instituted, the  more complicated reality of North Carolina’s current workforce is not reflected in the laws that are in place.