Tag Archives: paid sick days

Status of Work and Family bills in Olympia

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olympiaWednesday, March 13 was “cut-off” in Olympia. For the rest of the legislative session, only bills that have already passed the House or the Senate will be considered, except for budget bills and bills “necessary to implement the budget.”

Neither Paid Sick Days or Family & Medical Leave Insurance made it past cut-off – but thanks to all of your great work and a tremendous amount of public interest and support, we still made a lot of progress.

Here’s what we’ve accomplished so far this session:

Our coalition-sponsored bills were heard and moved through committees, positioning them well for future action:

  • HB 1313, establishing paid sick and safe leave, successfully passed out of the House Labor and Workforce Development, Appropriations, and Rules committees, but was not brought to the House floor for a vote. The Senate companion SB 5594 was heard in the Senate Commerce and Labor committee.
  • HB 1457, implementing family and medical leave insurance, successfully passed out of the House Labor and Workforce Development committee and was heard in the Finance committee. The Senate companion SB 5292 was heard in the Senate Commerce and Labor committee.

We blocked 2 out of 3 bills that would roll back paid leave protections:

  • SB 5159, repealing family and medical leave insurance, and SB 5728 preempting local paid sick and safe leave regulation both passed out of the Senate Commerce and Labor committee and Rules committee, but were not brought up for a vote on the floor.
  • However, SB 5726, placing geographic limitations on local paid sick leave and paid safe leave programs did pass the Senate and will be sent over to the House.

We have placed paid leave solidly on the policy agenda as key to healthy families and healthy communities:

  • Policymakers, the media, and the general public are growing increasingly aware of the high social and economic costs when workers do not have paid leave available, and the far-reaching benefits of paid leave policies.

Our coalition still has work to do this session, and we’ll let you know when it’s time to act:

  1. We need to stop bad policy. We must make sure that SB 5726 dies quickly in the House, and that restrictions on local sick leave ordinances and repeal of family and medical leave insurance are not part of any budget deal.
  2. We need to let legislators and the Governor know that Family and Medical Leave Insurance and Paid Sick Days remain important policy priorities.

Also, some great news from around the country:

  • Portland, OR passed paid sick and safe leave! Portland’s City Council unanimously adopted paid sick leave standards on March 13 (up to 5 days in companies with at least 6 employees).]
  • Philadelphia passed paid sick and safe leave! Their City Council approved paid sick leave by a vote of 11 to 6 today, March 14.

Paid Sick and Safe Days bill clears last committee before full House vote

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Via Washington Policy Watch:

olympiaThe Paid Sick and Safe Days bill is one step closer to passage in the Washington state House after clearing the Rules Committee, its final hurdle before being scheduled for a floor vote.

“This is a big deal,” said EOI Policy Director Marilyn Watkins. “Many good bills die in the Rules Committee, and to have the paid sick days bill passed out of Rules is great news.”

The Paid Sick and Safe Days bill would allow workers in businesses with 5 or more employees to earn paid sick time to be used when the worker is sick, to care for an ill family member, or to deal with the effects of domestic violence. It may also be used for preventive care, which will keep workers and their families healthier. The bill is similar to Seattle’s paid sick and safe days ordinance, which was supported by a large coalition of small business owners and community organizations.

The fate of the Paid Sick and Safe Days bill is now up to House Speaker Frank Chopp and House leadership, who will need to schedule the bill for a vote on the House floor by March 13th. If passed, it would then move to the state Senate for consideration.