Dina Bakst

American lawyer and worker's rights advocate

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

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Bakst and Sherry Leiwant founded A Better Balance in New York City in 2006.[4]

### Pregnant Workers Fairness Act

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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

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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

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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

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### Books

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* Bakst, Dina; Taubman, Phoebe; Gedmark, Elizabeth (2014). Babygate: How to Survive Pregnancy and Parenting in the Workplace. Iuniverse Inc. ISBN 9781475975680.

### Reports

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* 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

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1. ^ "A vision for workers' rights, featuring Dina Bakst, A Better Balance". Ford Foundation. 4 May 2020.
2. ^ "These 16 People and Groups Are Fighting for a More Equal America". Time. 20 February 2020.
3. ^ "Dina Bakst & Sherry Leiwant". The Heinz Awards.
4. ^ "Our History". A Better Balance. 28 May 2020.
5. ^ Rainey, Clint (22 December 2022). "Parents and pregnant workers score big wins in the omnibus spending package". Fast Company.
6. ^ Nadler, Jerrold (November 2023). "Making the new Pregnant Workers Fairness Act work for women and families". The Hill.
7. ^ Gardner, Sophie (7 July 2023). "The decade-long journey to end pregnancy discrimination". Politico.
8. ^ Hurley, Lauren K.; Siegel, Rachel. "Congress expands protections for pregnant and nursing workers". The Washington Post.
9. ^ Gupta, Alisha Haridasani (27 June 2023). "A New Law Aims to Stop Pregnancy Discrimination at Work". The New York Times.
10. ^ "Long Over Due: Exploring the Pregnant Workers' Fairness Act (H.R. 2694)". Library of Congress.
11. ^ ""Fighting for Fairness: Examining Legislation to Confront Workplace Discrimination."". Library of Congress.
12. ^ Lander, Brad (8 May 2013). "Paid Sick Days for a Million More New Yorkers". HuffPost.
13. ^ "Dina Bakst: Co-Founder and Co-President A Better Balance, The Work and Family Legal Center". Equal Means Equal. 7 February 2016.
14. ^ Gontcharova, Natalie. "Here's What You Should Know About New York's New Paid Family Leave Program". Refinery29.
15. ^ Marr, Chris. "Reining in Work Attendance Rules: New York Absence Law Explained". Bloomberg Law.
16. ^ "A Better Balance Files Four New Charges of Disability Discrimination Against Walmart Following "Pointing Out" Report" (Press release). PR Newswire.
17. ^ Mulvaney, Erin. "Walmart's $14 Million Deal With Pregnant Workers Gets Approval". Bloomberg Law.
18. ^ Carter, Christine Michel. "The Nonprofit Organization Secretly Advancing Public Policy For The Past 15 Years". Forbes.