Tell legislators: Don’t roll back paid leave protections!

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baby-holding-fingerDuring the regular session, the Senate passed two bills that would repeal family and medical leave insurance and roll back paid sick leave protections. Conservative members of the House and Senate have promised to bring both these bills back to the Special Session on the budget starting this Monday, May 13th.

Please help protect the health and economic security of Washington workers and families! 
 
Take 5 minutes today to tell your legislators:
  • Rolling back paid leave protections will undermine the health and economic security of working families and will not result in any savings in the 2013-15 budget.
  • Do not repeal family leave insurance or establish a taskforce that results in repeal.
  • Do not take away the ability of Washington cities to pass Paid Sick and Safe Leave laws that protect the health and safety of people who live, work, and shop within their borders.

Legislative Hotline: 1.800.562.6000

Click here for more information.

Working people need time to recover from illness, seek preventative care, nurture newborns, and care for aging family members. This isn’t just good for families – it will save the state money by promoting health, improving children’s school outcomes, boosting business productivity, and building our state’s economy.

We need more access to paid leave – not a takeaway of right we have already won!

Please contact your legislators today!

What I’d really like for Mother’s Day this year

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By Marilyn Watkins, from Washington Policy Watch:

Marilyn and her mother

Marilyn and her mother

I’ve been a mom for 28 years now – and a daughter for a lot longer. At this point, I’d rather have time with my sons for Mother’s Day than the little handmade gifts they used to give me when they were little. And I know my own mom would appreciate the same from me.

I also know, both as a giver and receiver of maternal love, how strong the instinct for self-sacrifice is. My mom scrimped and saved, never spending on herself, so her 5 kids could all enjoy music lessons and daily swimming in the hot Indiana summers, even on a modest family income. Now she faces serious health challenges, but still expresses appreciation for calls or visits from her on-the-go family – rather than complaining we don’t spend enough time with her.

The right to some time off with income is in fact the best ways we as a nation could honor moms this Mother’s Day.

Without legal requirements in place, only 12% of American workers have access to paid family leave and 4 in 10 get no paid sick leave. The lack of paid leave has real consequences when  60% of preschoolers and 70% of school-age children here in Washington have all their parents in the workforce.

The United States is one of the few countries in the world without guaranteed paid maternity leave, sick leave, and vacation time. Our children suffer the consequences.  According to the CIA Factbook, the US has higher rates of infant mortality than 50 other countries. Cuba, Greece, Slovenia, and French Polynesia are among those 50 countries doing better than us.  A 2013 United Nations reporton the health and wellbeing of children ranked the United States 26th out of 29 wealthy countries. And 22% of American children live in poverty.

How can we do better by our children – and our mothers?

We have practical policy models right here in the U.S. Seattle along with 4 other cities and the state of Connecticut have adopted paid sick days laws. Moms in these places can stay home with a sick child or take an ailing parent to the doctor and still put groceries on the table that week. They can also stay home when sick themselves, keeping the workplace healthier, safer, and more productive.

Five states have established family and/or medical leave insurance pools that provide workers with income when a serious illness or injury or new baby require longer periods off work. Not surprisingly, women in these states take longer maternity leaves. They breastfeed longer and take their babies in for more immunizations. And those moms are more likely to be in the workforce and earning more a year after giving birth. Moreover, new fathers also take longer leaves, keeping them more involved with their kids long term both emotionally and financially.

These paid leave policies are a good starting point to recreate the opportunity that we Americans pride ourselves on, but seems to have slipped away in the last generation.

We have lots of studies documenting that paid leave improves the health and wellbeing of mothers and babies, children and seniors, workers and employers. Unfortunately, data and common sense are not what drive policy change. To make paid sick days and family and medical leave insurance a reality, American mothers– and the sons, daughters, parents, and partners who love them –  have to break through the instinct for self-sacrifice and demand new rights from state legislators and Congress.

If the people who represent us now continue to deny us equal opportunity for paid time off for health and family needs, then it’s time to vote them out and vote in people who will pay attention.

That’s what I’d really like for Mother’s Day this year.

Mark Mother’s Day by Reforming Family Leave Laws in US

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By Janet Walsh, from Thompson Reuters: 

janet walsh

Janet Walsh, Deputy Women’s Rights Director at Human Rights Watch.

Diana T. worked full-time for a large retail store in the US when she became pregnant. Her manager was unhappy about her pregnancy and about Diana’s six-week unpaid maternity leave. Her employer refused to pay her accrued sick time during leave. Diana’s baby was born with asthma, and doctors suspected she had cystic fibrosis. Diana had severe post-partum depression.

Diana’s employer threatened to terminate her when she asked for time off for doctor visits. She barely managed to keep up with health visits for her infant daughter, and never got treatment for depression. Diana had to depend on family to help her buy food, diapers, and other basics during the time she was off work without pay.

Diana is one of millions of US workers with no paid family leave. The Family and Medical Leave Act grants workers unpaid job-protected leave for up to three months to care for parents, children and spouses with serious illnesses, to bond with new children, and to manage their own serious health conditions. But this applies only to enterprises with 50 or more employees, and eligibility requirements exclude many workers. Indeed, more than 40 percent of the American workforce has no protection under this law. Only about 12 percent of the workforce has access to paidfamily leave.

Public debate on US work-family policies ignited this year, triggered in part by Professor Anne-Marie Slaughter’s article in The Atlantic, “Why Women Still Can’t Have it All,” and Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg’s book, “Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead.” Both Slaughter and Sandberg call for paid family leave, among other steps to reform the US work-family culture. Critics claim that Slaughter and Sandberg are out of touch with low-income women. But when it comes to paid family leave, reforms they call for would make a profound difference for low-income workers.

Just California and New Jersey guarantee six weeks of paid family leave under law—financed entirely by minimal worker payroll contributions (in New Jersey, workers will pay a maximum of $30.90 for 2013). A handful of other states guarantee temporary disability insurance to birth mothers. For all other workers, it’s up their employers whether they offer paid family leave.

I interviewed Diana and more than 60 other parents in 17 states about US work-family policies for a 2011 Human Rights Watch report. Most of the parents had no paid family leave, and were lucky if they could string together sick pay or other leave to deal with major life events or catastrophes. Parents recounted how short and unpaid leave after childbirth or adoption contributed to delaying immunizations and health visits for babies, postpartum depression, and other health problems. During unpaid leave, many went into debt, and some resorted to welfare and bankruptcy.

Many parents I interviewed said they were forced to choose between a paycheck and their family’s wellbeing. This was especially true for low-income workers, like Diana.  US Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows that workers in the highest 25 percent of average wages are nearly four times more likely to have paid family leave than workers in the lowest 25 percent. Those in the highest 10 percent of wages are five times more likely to have paid family leave than workers in the lowest 10 percent.

The US lags far behind other countries when it comes to policies on reconciling work and family obligations. Every industrialized nation in the world—except the United States—guarantees paid leave for new mothers, and 81 countries do for new fathers, generally financed by social insurance systems. Countries that provide better protections for working families reap gains ineconomic competitiveness and productivity. Paid leave research in many countries has shown that such policies increase breastfeeding, immunizations, and health visits for babies; reduce infant mortality and postpartum depression; raise productivity and employee morale; and decrease employee turnover costs. Paid leave can help avert family poverty spells, which often coincide with the birth of a baby.

The California and New Jersey public paid leave insurance programs are working well for businesses and workers.  Most businesses responding to a 2011 survey on California’s program said it had either a positive effect or no noticeable effect on productivity, profitability, turnover, and employee morale. These programs do need to work harder to raise awareness among workers. The California survey, for example, found that low-wage workers, Latinos, and immigrants were the least aware of the program. But those who enrolled described positive results: breastfeeding, for example, doubled in duration for those who used the California program.

As the US marks Mother’s Day on May 12, I think of Diana and millions of other US mothers—and fathers—who just want to be good workers and good parents. It’s time for US policies to offer some basic support to help them achieve both, including paid family leave under law.

–

Janet Walsh is deputy women’s rights director at Human Rights Watch and the author of “Failing its Families: Lack of Paid Leave and Work-Family Supports in the US.” Follow her on Twitter at: @JanetHRW.

Paid Sick Days Opponents Continue to Hide Behind Preemption

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By Vicki Shabo, from the National Partnership for Women and Families:

Orange County, Flordia Commission meeting on 9-11-12 (Joe Ruble)

Orange County, Flordia Commission meeting on 9-11-12 (Joe Ruble)

Last month, I wrote about a disturbing trend: States are passing “preemption” laws that prohibit a growing number of cities and counties from adopting their own paid sick days standards. Sadly, these misguided attacks on local democracy have been spreading rapidly, as legislators put the interests of the national big business lobby ahead of the interests of their constituents. Now, there are paid sick days preemption bills or laws in 13 states.

This trend is no coincidence. In fact, it is a well-coordinated effort to thwart paid sick days bills just as momentum for this common sense policy continues to build. We know that the National Restaurant Association circulated a draft preemption bill at a 2011 meeting of the corporate-funded American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). Since then, the association and other groups have been working behind the scenes to advance very similar bills.

Take the case of Florida. Eighty percent of Floridians say that workers should be able to earn paid sick days, and six in 10 want localities to be able to make their own laws. But Florida legislators refuse to listen to voters. Instead, big business associations and local power players like Disney and Darden Restaurants have convinced them to shut down local governments’ ability to pass their own paid sick days standards. It is shameful that the same state legislators who claim to be for “local government” are pushing through a policy that essentially ties its hands.

Michigan’s battle against preemption is also ongoing. As Working America points out, legislators in the state who have railed against “big government intrusion” have changed their tune to fulfill the wishes of the business lobby. As in Florida, Michigan voters say that workers should be able to earn paid sick days. They know that if Michigan’s preemption bill passes, it will be families – like the moms who make up the local advocacy group Mothering Justice and their kids – who will suffer most.

This same pattern is repeating itself across the country: Louisiana. Mississippi. Kansas. Tennessee.Arizona. A preemption bill is introduced – usually by a legislator who is an ALEC member, and usually with the support of the big business lobby – and then it’s fast-tracked through the legislature and quietly signed by the governor. In these five states, the new laws preempt not only paid sick days, but also local minimum wage and other ordinances proven to improve workers’ lives.

The bill in Arizona – now law – is particularly disturbing. In 2006, Arizona voters passed a statewide ballot measure forbidding the legislature from doing exactly what it just did: preempting local wage and benefits standards. According to the state constitution, the legislature must meet certain strict requirements to overturn a voter-approved measure. It hasn’t done so, making the preemption bill illegal and open to litigation. Arizonans can thank legislators like the sponsor of the bill, Rep. Thomas Forese (an ALEC member), for the costly lawsuit that will almost certainly be filed.

The Indiana bill is also troubling. In addition to preempting workers’ rights, it may overturn local anti-discrimination ordinances meant to protect the right of LGBT individuals to keep their jobs.

The other states considering preemption legislation are Alabama and South Carolina. The South Carolina bill was introduced by an ALEC Task Force chair, Rep. William Sandifer, and is being pushed through quickly and under the radar, leaving concerned advocates little time to speak out.

Washington and Oklahoma also considered preemption bills in 2013, but those bills have not passed.

Almost all of these preemption bills have been pushed through quietly, without the knowledge of activists or legislators who might ask questions about their provenance and usefulness. But, as the intent of the big business lobby becomes clearer, and as it becomes more obvious that these bills have nothing to do with the well-being of states or their residents, sponsors will surely have a tougher time defending their attempts to usurp power from the people to whom it truly belongs: voters.

Update on the Work/Family agenda: The special session and beyond

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SB 5659 official signing photo

Gov. Gregoire signing the Family and Medical Leave Insurance bill in 2007

Family and Medical Leave Insurance – In the last days of the regular session, the Senate passed SB 5903, which would repeal family and medical leave insurance if it is not funded by 2015. The bill would set up a taskforce to make recommendations for funding – but we don’t need another taskforce – we already had one in 2007. The Washington Work and Family Coalition has already put forward a strong funding solution (HB 1457/SB 5292).

The current FMLI system is slated to begin providing benefits in the 2015-17 biennium, which would allow parents to spend a few weeks nurturing their newborn or newly adopted child without falling into poverty. The state is not obligated to spend any money in the 2013-15 biennium.

House Bill 2044 removes the implementation date for family leave insurance in order to meet 4-year balanced budget provisions, but leaves the program on the books. If “compromise” is necessary, we prefer the House’s approach to the Senate’s.

Paid Sick Days – In 2011, the Seattle City Council acted to protect the health of people living, working, and patronizing businesses in Seattle by passing minimum standards for paid sick and safe leave. This year the Senate passed Senate Bill 5726, prohibiting local paid sick leave laws from applying to companies based outside the city, or to employees who sometimes work in other locations. SB 5726 would exempt all companies that base their offices outside of Seattle, even if they have people working 100% of the time in Seattle – including providing home care to vulnerable seniors, making repairs and installations in people’s homes, or delivering food to restaurants and stores.

Tell legislators and the Governor: Reject the Senate approach on both Family and Medical Leave Insurance and Paid Sick Days. Rolling back protections will in no way improve the state budget outlook. In fact, guaranteeing that working Washingtonians can take the time they need to recover from illness, seek preventative care, nurture newborns, and care for aging family members will save the state money by promoting health, improving children’s school outcomes, boosting business productivity, and building our state’s economy.

Yahoo expands maternity leave after banning telecommuting

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From NBCbayarea.com:

Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer PHOTO: Pascal Lauener / Reuters

Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer
PHOTO: Pascal Lauener / Reuters

Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer, who sparked an uproar and hurt her image as a working mom when she banned telecommuting two months ago, is now offering employees generous new family leave benefits.

Under the new policy, mothers can take 16 weeks of paid leave with benefits, and fathers can take up to eight weeks, each time they have a new child via childbirth. Both parents receive eight weeks off for new children via adoption, foster child placement or surrogacy.

This change is a significant increase for Yahoo employees, particularly mothers, who will basically get twice as much paid time off. Under the old policy, moms received eight week paid after pregnancy, or 10 weeks if they had a C-section.

Yahoo will also give new parents $500 to spend on such things as house cleaning, groceries and babysitters, plus Yahoo-branded baby gifts.

Mayer’s decision, which brings the Sunnyvale-based Yahoo closer to Silicon Valley titans Google and Facebook, could help repair the damage as she works to turn around the struggling media giant.

But it doesn’t only make sense from a public relations standpoint, observers said. The new policy could fit into a broader corporate strategy to attract and retain more talent and ultimately improve Yahoo’s financial performance.

“It’s a smart move,” said Rachel Sklar, a New York-based blogger and founder of The Li.st, an organization dedicated to elevate the status of women in New Media and technology. “It suggests a long-term strategy. This is a great precedent.”

Companies who provide “everything” to their employees, such as free lunch and daycare sites at Google, do better financially in the long run because there is nothing to “distract” their workers from working, Sklar said.

“The temptation will be to see this through a gender lens – -that of course she did it because she’s a new-mom CEO,” Sklar said. “And this certainly would suggest she has a heightened awareness as a working mom, but this will encourage new parents to be engaged with the company and have a financial piece of mind. When companies nickel-and-dime their employees, it just adds to their burden.”

From the moment she became Yahoo’s new chief executive last year, Mayer, 37, has been seen as a symbol of corporate gender politics. She took the job when she was five months pregnant and worked through a two-week maternity leave that ended in October.

Her decision to return to work so quickly attracted both praise and criticism – praise for showing that a new mother could continue to steer a Fortune 500 company, and criticism for failing to set a realistic expectations for America’s working moms.

Mayer drew praise for adding perks such as new iPhones and free food, cutting company bureaucracy and redesigning work spaces. Many of those amenities were standard at her prior employer, Google.

In February, Mayer sparked another debate when she decided to end Yahoo’s lenient telecommuting policy. Employees with existing work-from-home arrangements were told they had to start coming into the office or look for another job.

The move reflected Mayer’s an all-hands-on-deck approach to turning around Yahoo and make it more competitive. But she was again accused of making it harder on working parents.

But her decision to double family leave for new parents from 8 weeks to 16 weeks puts Yahoo in the same ballpark as her Silicon Valley rivals: Google gives between 18 and 22 weeks off to new mothers, and Facebook told the New York Times that it gives new mothers and fathers four months of paid leave.

A Google spokeswoman said that all the Mountain View-company perks – which include preferred parking for expectant mothers and $500 in “baby bucks” to spend on things such as takeout dinners, like Yahoo is now offering – are so that life can be as smooth as possible for new parents. That’s of course, the spokeswoman noted, so that they can come back to work fully rested.

In California, workers are eligible for six weeks of partial pay through the state’s disability benefits program.

Mayer’s move also comes amid a broader debate in America about the country’s commitment to family leave. The United States, which hasn’t updated its Family and Medical Leave Act in 20 years, ranks among the worst of all developed countries. Sweden, Denmark Russian mothers get at least a year off paid and Canadian mothers get 50 weeks off paid.

The U.S. law requires large companies to provide 12 weeks of unpaid leave to employers who need to care for a newborn child or an ill relative. And that relatively stingy benefit covers only workers who have been at a company for at least a year. That leaves millions without access to the benefit. Many more cut their absences short because they can’t afford unpaid leave.

Senate passes backdoor repeal of Family Leave – tell House members to protect our families!

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Mark testified in favor of Family and Medical Leave this year, speaking about how it would have helped his family when his daughter was born with serious health complications PHOTO: John Stang

Mark testified in favor of Family and Medical Leave this year, speaking about how it would have helped his family when his daughter was born with serious health complications
PHOTO: John Stang

It’s been a bad week for working families in the Washington State Legislature, as Monday the WA State Senate voted to potentially repeal our Paid Family and Medical Leave system.

Please contact your legislators in the WA State House (1-800-562-6000) and tell them one more time:

Don’t accept the Senate plan to repeal Family and Medical Leave Insurance! Washington’s working families and small businesses need expansion of paid leave protections, not rollbacks.

On Monday, the Senate passed SB 5903 by a vote of 27 to 21 (see how your Senator voted here). It would repeal the Family and Medical Leave Insurance if the legislature does not approve funding by 2015. The bill would create a taskforce of eight legislators with the assignment of recommending a funding mechanism.

What’s wrong with a taskforce? Some taskforces do good work, but this one is merely a smoke screen that will allow legislators to repeal family leave insurance without looking like they are taking an anti-family vote. Besides, we don’t need another task force! We already had one in 2007. Another will be a costly waste of time, and result in repeal of paid family leave.

The Senate repeal bill now goes to the House. Please take 5 minutes today to urge your Representatives to to do the right thing.

Action for today: Call the legislative hotline 1-800-562-6000. Tell your legislators in the House of Representatives:

  • Please support Washington working families and vote NO on SB 5903.
  • Do not support any measure that will repeal Washington’s Family and Medical Leave Insurance program.
  • Washington’s working families and small businesses need expansion of paid leave protections, not rollbacks.