Support for Working Families

The Justice Center champions public policies, investments, laws and regulations that help low-income working families (those with incomes at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level) provide for themselves and their families. The center researches how the labor market operates and advocates for policies and practices that provide all workers with fair pay, access to vital benefits, opportunities for education and training, and chances for upward mobility. Current initiatives include the following:

  • Enact A Paid Sick Leave Standard – Some 42% of North Carolina workers get no paid sick leave. When sickness hits them or their loved ones, these workers are forced to stay home without pay – putting their financial well-being or even their jobs at risk – or go to work sick, send their children to school sick, or leave a sick loved one without the care they need. The Justice Center has launched a campaign to secure legislation that will guarantee reasonable paid sick leave for all workers. Learn more at www.ncsickdays.org.
     

  • Expand the State’s Refundable Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) – In 2007, the Center and its allies persuaded the state legislature to adopt a refundable earned income tax credit tied to the federal one. The EITC supplements the wages of low-income working families and helps bridge the gaps between the high cost of living expenses and the low wages paid by too many jobs. In 2008, the state credit provided an estimated 845,000 working households with a total of $48 million. Given the credit’s effectiveness, thte Center now is working to expand the size of the credit. Learn more about the policy at Making Work Pay. Learn how to claim the credit at EITC Carolinas.

     

  • Strengthen Child-care Subsidy Program – This program helps low-wage workers cover the high costs of child care. Every year, the Justice Center works to secure more funding for this program, which has a waiting list thousands of children long.

     

  • Improve the employment conditions of low-wage workers – The Center long has worked to ensure that workers are treated fairly and work in safe conditions. To that end, the Center is working to ensure that workers have the right to organize and bargain collectively The Center also is using litigation strategies to challenge unfair federal visa regulations governing the treatment of migrant workers and opposing the way in which the state treats its temporary workers. Additionally, the Center is working to improve pesticide laws to better protect farmworkers.
     

  • Expand Worker Education and Training - North Carolina's workforce development system, especially its model system of community colleges, offers an array of affordable and accessible educational, vocational, economic development and community services that foster individual advancement and regional growth. This system is especially important during recessions, when dislocated and displaced workers turn to the system to acquire the skills and education needed to seize new opportunities, Unfortunately, the system is not funded in a way that permits it to respond adequately to peaks in demand. Learn more: BTC Brief - Community College Crunch.
     

  • Provide Timely Economic Analysis – The Center regularly documents the health of the state’s labor market and how current conditions help or hinder the advancement of working families across the state. Learn more: A Tale of Two Economic Cycles.