Rather than cut jobs, CCLC held staff meetings at centers where enrollment declined due to parent job loss and allowed staff to decide how to share available work hours.

Marriott International waived its 30 weekly hours requirement for health insurance in 2008 and will continue to do so through 2010. As a result, no hourly worker will lose coverage when business is slow.

McDonald’s USA launched “McDonald’s Practical Money Skills,” a set of bilingual money management tools, including budget worksheets, Web resources and videos, for hourly restaurant workers.

Food service company Sodexo enables hourly workers to trade shifts, use floating holidays and take unpaid leaves without penalty, which helps a globally diverse workforce visit home countries.

Recognizing the need for its workers to navigate newly created federal tax credits, the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics offered free tax preparation for low-wage employees in 2009.

UNM Hospitals restructured its own health plan last year to cut premium costs by roughly half for single parents seeking coverage for themselves and their children.