Ann O'Leary reflects on Next Generation's accomplishments and discusses what's next for the Children & Families program.

Not only did voters approve measures to raise the minimum wage in Nebraska, Arkansas, Alaska, and South Dakota, but Massachusetts voters also passed a historic measure to guarantee employees access to paid sick days, making it the third state in the country to pass such a law.

Today, California Governor Jerry Brown signed into law the Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014 (AB 1522), making California the second state in the country to provide paid sick days to its residents. The new law – authored by Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego) – will provide up to three paid sick days a year to approximately 6.5 million working Californians.

Today, the California legislature took a critical step to support working families and promote public health in our state by guaranteeing a minimum of three paid sick days for millions of working Californians. Governor Jerry Brown indicated his support for the bill, and we are hopeful that he will soon sign it into law.

According to a new report issued Tuesday by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, nearly seven million employees across California lack access to paid sick days at work. This number is much higher than previously reported, based on a detailed analysis of the National Health Information Survey and the American Community Survey.

A report released today by the Washington D.C.-based Institute for Women’s Policy Research, highlights how many more Californians than previously thought – approximately 7 million, or 44% of all working Californians – may lack access to paid sick days.

As you might expect, here at Next Generation we spend a lot of time talking and writing about the next generation of Americans – what they need to thrive and how to make the best world for them to do it in. This week, however, we featured a blog post by a member of that new generation.

Having the right to take a day off from work when you are ill shouldn’t have to be a dream – it should be a reality for all workers. But millions of Californians are forced to come to work sick or send their child to school ill because they don’t have access to a single paid sick day.

We're proud to announce that the California Work & Family Coalition is joining our forces! Together we're fighting for work-family policies that really work for all Californians and allow our state to thrive.