Dina Bakst
Dina Bakst is an American lawyer and worker's rights advocate. She is co-founder and co-president of A Better Balance, a national nonprofit organization that focuses on legislative advocacy and education on labor issues, particularly relating to pregnancy discrimination, sick leave, parental leave, and work–life balance.[1]
In 2020, Time magazine named Bakst on their list of "16 People and Groups Fighting for a More Equal America."[2]
In 2021, along with A Better Balance co-founder and co-president Sherry Leiwant, Bakst was awarded the Heinz Award for the Economy for A Better Balance's advocacy and policy work.[3]
A Better Balance[edit]
Bakst and Sherry Leiwant founded A Better Balance in New York City in 2006.[4]
Pregnant Workers Fairness Act[edit]
Under Bakst's leadership, A Better Balance was credited by Fast Company as the "primary driver" of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, which passed in December 2022.[5] Representative Jerry Nadler credited Bakst's January 2012 op-ed in The New York Times "Pregnant, and Pushed Out of a Job," as the inspiration for first introducing the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act in 2012.[6][7] The organization helped draft the language of the bill.[8][9]
Bakst presented witness testimony at a 2019 House Education and Labor Committee hearing on the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act[10] and again in 2021.[11]
New York State legislation[edit]
Under Bakst's leadership, A Better Balance played a key role in passing legislation in New York, including New York City's Earned Sick Time Act, which went into effect in 2014,[12] New York City's Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, which passed in 2013,[13] and New York's paid family leave law, which passed in 2016.[14]
Under Bakst’s leadership, New York passed a law in 2022 protecting workers from being disciplined for taking legally protected time off.[15]
Strategic litigation[edit]
Under Bakst's leadership, in 2017, alongside the National Women's Law Center and Mehri & Skalet, and Sedey Harper & Westhoff, A Better Balance filed a nationwide class-action lawsuit against Walmart for failure to accommodate pregnant workers. A Better Balance filed additional charges of disability discrimination against Walmart later that year.[16] In 2020, a federal court granted final approval to a $14 million settlement in the matter of Borders v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.[17]
Additionally, the city of Florence, Kentucky, reached an agreement in response to a case filed by A Better Balance under Bakst's leadership on behalf of two police officers who faced pregnancy discrimination on the job in 2016.[18]
Bibliography[edit]
Books[edit]
- Bakst, Dina; Taubman, Phoebe; Gedmark, Elizabeth (2014). Babygate: How to Survive Pregnancy and Parenting in the Workplace. Iuniverse Inc. ISBN 9781475975680.
Reports[edit]
- Bakst, Dina; Brafman, Sarah; Gedmark, Elizabeth (2023). Winning The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act: An Inside Story and Lessons Learned from the Decade-Long Fight for Justice, Fairness, and Equality. Report.
- Bakst, Dina; Brafman, Sarah; Gedmark, Elizabeth; Racklin, Meghan (2021). Long Overdue: The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act is a Critical Measure to Remove Barriers to Women’s Workplace Participation and Promote Healthy Pregnancies. Report.
References[edit]
- ^ "A vision for workers' rights, featuring Dina Bakst, A Better Balance". Ford Foundation.
- ^ "These 16 People and Groups Are Fighting for a More Equal America". Time.
- ^ "Dina Bakst & Sherry Leiwant". The Heinz Awards.
- ^ "Our History". A Better Balance.
- ^ Rainey, Clint. "Parents and pregnant workers score big wins in the omnibus spending package". Fast Company.
- ^ Nadler, Jerrold. "Making the new Pregnant Workers Fairness Act work for women and families". The Hill.
- ^ Gardner, Sophie. "The decade-long journey to end pregnancy discrimination". Politico.
- ^ Hurley, Lauren K.; Siegel, Rachel. "Congress expands protections for pregnant and nursing workers". The Washington Post.
- ^ Gupta, Alisha Haridasani. "A New Law Aims to Stop Pregnancy Discrimination at Work". The New York Times.
- ^ "Long Over Due: Exploring the Pregnant Workers' Fairness Act (H.R. 2694)". Library of Congress.
- ^ ""Fighting for Fairness: Examining Legislation to Confront Workplace Discrimination."". Library of Congress.
- ^ Lander, Brad. "Paid Sick Days for a Million More New Yorkers". HuffPost.
- ^ "Dina Bakst: Co-Founder and Co-President A Better Balance, The Work and Family Legal Center". Equal Means Equal.
- ^ Gontcharova, Natalie. "Here's What You Should Know About New York's New Paid Family Leave Program". Refinery29.
- ^ Marr, Chris. "Reining in Work Attendance Rules: New York Absence Law Explained". Bloomberg Law.
- ^ "A Better Balance Files Four New Charges of Disability Discrimination Against Walmart Following "Pointing Out" Report". PR Newswire.
- ^ Mulvaney, Erin. "Walmart's $14 Million Deal With Pregnant Workers Gets Approval". Bloomberg Law.
- ^ Carter, Christine Michel. "The Nonprofit Organization Secretly Advancing Public Policy For The Past 15 Years". Forbes.