Facebook’s COO, Sheryl Sandberg, announced that the company will be implementing a new set of standards for their contractors and vendors. Facebook contractors and vendors must agree to provide employees with a $15/hour minimum wage, minimum 15 paid days off for holidays, sick time and vacation, and for those workers who do not receive paid parental leave, a $4,000 new child benefit for new parents. These new standards will give all workers, especially parents, more flexibility and make families stronger. Facebook’s announcement follows the trend of Microsoft, Johnson & Johnson, and Vodafone, among others, who have increased their parental leave policies. AAUW advocates a livable wage and access to paid family and medical leave and applauds Facebook’s efforts to support workers and families.

  AAUW’s Legal Advocacy Fund (LAF) supported the case in which the Supreme Court recently decided in favor of the plaintiff, 6 – 3.  Peggy Young was the plaintiff in the case Young v. United Parcel Service (UPS). Young sued UPS after the company rejected her request for medically necessary and temporary light-duty work during her pregnancy. Evidence showed that UPS had accommodated male workers with light duties when they were temporarily disabled. Young was forced to take unpaid leave and lost both her health care and income at a critical time. Lower courts sided with UPS. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer delivered the majority opinion, which essentially tells employers that if they are accommodating most non-pregnant workers with injuries or disabilities while refusing to accommodate most pregnant workers who need it, they are likely violating the Pregnancy Discrimination Act by placing a significant burden on pregnant workers.