Washington Work and Family Coalition

One Senator blocking Equal Pay, Paid Sick Leave? Please help!

michael-baumgartner — Urge WA State Senator Michael Baumgartner to hold a hearing on equal pay and paid sick days legislation, and pass both out of committee.

Hundreds of WA Work and Family Coalition supporters recently urged members of the state House to support Paid Sick and Safe Leave legislation and the Equal Pay Opportunity Act. And the House passed both!

Now, one state Senator is threatening to slam on the brakes. But we haven’t come this far to give up now – right?!

Here’s what’s happening: Both bills have been sent to the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee — but Senator Baumgartner, the committee Chair, hasn’t scheduled them for a public hearing.

Please contact Senator Baumgartner and other members of the Senate Commerce and Labor committee today. Urge them to hold a hearing on both bills and pass them out of committee.

The Equal Pay Opportunity Act will ensure all workers can communicate about their wages and ask about access to career opportunities without fear of retribution. It’s a key tool for women to achieve equal pay for equal work.

Passing Paid Sick and Safe Leave legislation will help protect public health, build family economic security, and improve children’s outcomes in school. Paid sick leave laws are now on the books in over 20 cities and states across the U.S., so we know healthy workers and families also support thriving businesses and strong economic growth.

If these bills don’t pass out of committee by April 1, they’ll be dead for this year. Please don’t wait. Urge the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee to schedule a hearing for these two bills today.

Thank you!

~Marilyn, Gabriela and the entire team at the Washington Work and Family Coalition

Equal Pay Opportunity Act passes Washington House!

What’s that sound? It’s the sound of cheers and applause coming from women and their allies across Washington State.

Why are we cheering? Because the Equal Pay Opportunity Act (HB 1646) just passed the Washington State House, with bipartisan support (55-43). The bill, if it passes through the Senate this session, will provide workers with key protections and help close the gender wage gap. The Act:

Protects employee communication about compensation and job opportunities, and clarifies that all employees can ask their employer why they are being paid less or don’t have the same access to career opportunities as others.

Adds being denied more favorable jobs or career tracks because of gender, in addition to pay discrimination, as a cause of civil action.

Strengthens existing enforcement by requiring a valid business reason related to the job – such as education, training, or experience – for a gender disparity in pay, hiring, work assignments, or career track; and by providing for recovery of damages and expenses in civil suits.

The Equal Pay Opportunity Act is sponsored by Representative Tana Senn (D-Mercer Island), who believes it’s time to move quickly toward gender pay equity. “Even today, women are paid 80 cents for every dollar earned by men for similar work,” said Rep. Senn in her announcement of sponsorship of the legislation.

The Washington Work and Family Coalition has led the way in pressing for the Equal Pay Opportunity Act – and has shown outstanding leadership in working to combat gender discrimination across Washington State.

Marilyn Watkins, Policy Director at the Economic Opportunity Institute, which convenes the Coalition, says, “The EPOA will help women get ahead, and also help to change our culture so that women get the pay and opportunities they’ve earned. Our society still consistently undervalues women’s work and contributions, even all these decades after our state banned wage discrimination. Unequal pay leaves big holes in family budgets, makes it harder for local businesses to prosper, and means women get less in retirement, too.”

Thank you to Representative Tana Senn and the 44 other representatives in the House who cosponsored this bill.

We expect the bill to be heard in the Senate in the coming weeks. You can still send your stories and support for the bill to your Senators through the Washington Legislature page.

Women can’t wait for this bill. As Redmond High School student Olivia Roskill reminds us, “women are worth more than spare change.”

By Sam Hatzenbeler, MPHc

[Crossposted from Washington Policy Watch]

Minimum wage, paid sick days bills pass Washington State House!

Two key measures to boost Washington’s economy and protect the economic security of millions of working families in Washington have passed the state House:

State Minimum Wage Increase (HB 1355): Sponsored by Rep. Jessyn Farrell (D-Seattle); increases Washington’s minimum wage to $12 over four years.

Paid Sick and Safe Leave (HB 1356): Sponsored by Rep. Laurie Jinkins (D-Tacoma); allows all workers in Washington to earn paid sick and safe leave to care for the health and safety needs of themselves and their families.

Members of the Washington Work and Family Coalition, which advocated strongly for both measures, issued the following statements:

“Together these two bills strengthen families and ensure that jobs boost rather than bust our state economy. These bills will improve public health and make family incomes more secure – especially for working women. That means children will do better in school, local businesses will benefit, and state revenues will increase,” said Marilyn P. Watkins, Ph.D., Policy Director at the Economic Opportunity Institute.

“We are one step closer to better economic security for women and families! This is an important victory, especially for women and people of color who are over-represented in low-wage industries and disproportionality impacted by the lack of paid sick days. We are excited for those we serve and our whole community,” said Liz Mills, Advocacy and Policy Director at the YWCA of Seattle and King and Snohomish Counties.

“We are thrilled the House of Representatives passed the Paid Sick and Safe Days law,” said Grace Huang, Public Policy Coordinator for the Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence. “Allowing domestic violence survivors to take time off of work to deal with the consequences of violence – without the fear of losing wages – leads to safer and healthier communities.”