H.C.R. 4

1

RESOLUTION URGING BUSINESSES TO
2 ADJUST PARENT WORK SCHEDULES
3 1998 GENERAL SESSION
4 STATE OF UTAH
5 Sponsor: Robert H. M. Killpack
6 A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION OF THE LEGISLATURE AND THE GOVERNOR URGING
7 UTAH BUSINESSES TO WORK WITH EMPLOYEES WHO ARE PARENTS TO ADJUST
8 WORK SCHEDULES TO REDUCE DAILY CHILD CARE NEEDS.
9 Be it resolved by the Legislature of the state of Utah, the Governor concurring therein:
10 WHEREAS parents, as the party legally responsible to care for their children, should have
11 an adequate amount of time to be with their children;
12 WHEREAS studies have clearly shown that the critical years for a child's brain
13 development are from newborn to three years;
14 WHEREAS the nurturing and caring of S [a parent] PARENTS s during those early years is
14a the most crucial
15 component of a child's growth;
16 WHEREAS in many households where both parents work to meet family financial needs
17 and cannot be with their children for much of the day, child care becomes a necessary option;
18 WHEREAS many parents, whose work schedules overlap, rely on child care for their
19 children for eight hours or more each day;
20 WHEREAS this heavy reliance on child care makes it difficult for parents to fulfill their
21 parenting role adequately;
22 WHEREAS the citizens of Utah have been encouraged to stagger their work day and to use
23 flexible, alternate work schedules in order to ease the burden of traffic congestion;
24 WHEREAS this concept could be applied by businesses to help their employees who are
25 parents to reduce the amount of time each day that their children spend in day care;
26 WHEREAS numerous alternative work schedule options are available to today's employers
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Amend on 2_goldenrod February 18, 1998 27 that allow greater flexibility without damaging a company's bottom line;

1 WHEREAS although this would not work in every case, even families with preschool
2 children could make a concerted effort to reduce their child care needs, which in turn would lower
3 the family's child care costs; and
4 WHEREAS with businesses taking the lead and encouraging their employees to come
5 forward with their needs, a significant amount of the dependency Utahns currently have on child
6 care would be reduced, while at the same time Utah business would keep pace with the changing,
7 more flexible view of the eight hour work day common in today's workplace:
8 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of the state of Utah, the
9 Governor concurring therein, urge Utah businesses and their employees to make a concerted effort
10 to explore and implement alternative work schedule options to reduce the time their children spend
11 in child care.
12 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this resolution be sent to Utah's Chambers
13 of Commerce.




Legislative Review Note
as of 12-1-97 1:34 PM

A limited legal review of this bill raises no obvious constitutional or statutory concerns.

Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel

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