Cough if you need sick leave

 

The short, lumpy red couch in Stili Klikizos’ second-grade classroom at Milwaukee’s Fratney Elementary School was meant for quiet-time reading. Now it’s “the sick couch,” a place for ill students to lie down as they await the bus that takes everybody home at day’s end. “The parents work and will lose pay if they come get them,” she told me as I sat on the couch. Thanks to her union contract, Klikizos gets 12.5 paid sick days a year. Many of her students’ parents aren’t so fortunate. “It crosses socioeconomic lines. Sometimes kids tell me not to even call, since ‘Mom will get fired if she leaves.'” Last year, several couch-sitters were belatedly diagnosed with swine flu.

 

The no-show parents are among the 40 percent of the private sector who don’t receive sick pay. Among full-time workers, 73 percent are covered by paid medical days. (Ninety-one percent have paid vacation, 89 percent paid holidays). The percentage is far lower on every count for part-time workers, though it’s not just the motel cleaning lady or immigrant dishwasher who is scared to call in sick, see a doctor, or pick up a kid from school. Retail sales supervisors and information technology managers deal with the same domestic crises.

Read more from Businessweek

Family leave insurance can help prime the pump for economic recovery

Whether we’re in a recession or economic boom, almost all employees have family obligations. From planning the birth of a new baby, to taking care of an elderly parent, to dealing with long term medical emergencies, time away from work is sometimes required to care for yourself or your family. There’s no sane economic rationale for forcing people to risk their job to do that — but that’s the reality for many Washington workers. Just 41% earn paid sick days, and 65% earn paid vacation, which puts the economic security of tens of thousands of workers at risk for falling ill or starting a family.

Without the ability to earn paid time off at work, personal or family medical problems, or the birth or adoption of a new baby can mean falling behind on the mortgage or rent, purchasing less, and having to rely on public assistance until a new job becomes available. That’s not good for our families, our communities or our economy. A state-funded program — one that doesn’t cut benefits during lean times as many businesses do during a recession — is especially critical because it helps families maintain financial security, and ensures we keep a strong middle class intact to fuel a robust recovery.

Washington Family Leave Insurance (FLI) is an example of just such a program. It is specifically designed to help families maintain economic stability during tough times. Passed into state law in 2007, FLI was slated to provide $250 per week for up to 5 weeks to all new parents starting in October 2009; expanded coverage for care of a spouse/domestic partner or immediate family member was also in the works. By 2011, nearly 50,000 Washington families would have benefited.

I say “would have” because the program was initially passed without a funding source, and finding a one has been delayed by the recession and state budget shortfalls. As a result, FLI isn’t actually available when our families need it most. But while this is certainly disappointing news, there is also cause for hope: recent action by the federal government may help Washington fund the program.

Continue reading “Family leave insurance can help prime the pump for economic recovery”

Will your elected official work for working families? Find out

With the campaign season gearing up, candidates are beginning to hold their first town hall meetings and community forums. Both prospective candidates and incumbents alike are out in the community, eager to bolster their campaign platforms by answering questions from constituents.

In response, the Washington Family Leave Coalition developed its Candidate Questionnaire — a guide for organizations and individuals wishing to discuss work-family public policy issues with municipal, state legislative and national candidates for elective office in Washington State.

For discussions with candidates for national office, please see these fact sheets on the federal Healthy Families Act and Federal Funding for State Paid Family Leave Programs to learn more about these important pieces of pending federal legislation.

Have questions? You can also send us an email using this form.