We know the bill will face fierce opposition from corporate lobbyists in the state Senate, but the 1 million Washington workers without access to paid sick and safe leave can’t afford for politics to trump good policy.
Take action today and urge your Senator to support paid sick and safe leave. Email them on our action page or call the legislative hotline at1-800-562-6000.
No one should have to got to work sick or leave a sick child at home because they can’t afford to lose a day’s pay. Women like Jennifer, a restaurant worker who was nearly beaten to death by her partner, shouldn’t have to worry about making ends meet when they take unpaid leave to seek medical services or testify in court.
Across the country, states and cities are taking action to expand access to paid sick days. Washington D.C., New York City, San Francisco, Jersey City, Connecticut, Portland, OR, SeaTac and Seattle have passed laws allowing workers to accrue paid sick and safe leave.
We can do better for Washington’s working families. Act today.
All over the country, parents are losing jobs because of conflicting orders: public health officials instructing parents to keep kids home, and bosses threatening to fire workers who don’t come in.
The cold this winter isn’t just extreme—it’s expensive. It means higher heating bills, more spending on car repairs, and more taxpayer money going to city services. For many people, it means lost pay. And for some, the cost is their job.
Ask Rhiannon Broschat. On January 28, when Chicago Public Schools recognized that the extreme cold was dangerous for children, they closed the schools. Rhiannon’s special-needs child couldn’t stay home alone, and her back-up care provider, her mother, isn’t available during the week. For being a good mother and following the advice of public health officials, Rhiannon Broschat found herself fired by her employer, Whole Foods.
Like a lot of employers, Whole Foods assigns points for unexcused absences. Because other employees made their way into work, the company did not consider the weather situation serious enough to count in the “excused absence” category.
“If I can’t walk my dog, I don’t think my kid should be outside either,” Rhiannon told me, agreeing with the decision to close schools that day. “If I could have found adequate child care, I would have made it to work. I need my money. They try to play it like I was lazy.”
The story of the cold weather has been all over the media for months, but this is one question reporters haven’t been asking: what do parents of young children do when schools close because of snow or cold?
Some cities have found a common sense solution. Ordinances guaranteeing that workers can earn paid sick days are starting to include language that allows workers to use those sick days when schools are closed for public health purposes. Everyone benefits from these laws—families already on the brink have more money to spend, which helps boost the economy, and businesses don’t have to pay to hire and train a new employee.
Unfortunately, I can count on my two hands the number of cities and the one state that currently guarantee workers can earn paid sick days. Rhiannon Broschat’s situation is not uncommon.
“I know tons of people around the country and within my former company are going through the same thing,” Rhiannon said. “I would love to see this changed—rescind this policy or pass a regulation like paid sick days. Everybody should have those, especially if you have children.”
Rhiannon is a junior in college majoring in criminal justice. One of her biggest worries is whether she can afford to stay in school, and whether she’ll be able to pay off her student loans once she finishes.
“Things were already tight – this will make it tighter,” she said, “with the rising cost of housing, utility bills, gas for the car, and car maintenance living in Chicago—I just fixed my car the day before I was fired. Things happen, they all cost money.” Her goal is to get a job in juvenile probation. “I know a lot of kids out there are in difficult situations—that circles back to the situation I’m having,” she said. “Parents can’t help what goes on. They lose their jobs, and kids are the ones who have to suffer.”
Rhiannon’s story reminded me of my former co-worker Teresa. She described a similar experience on a day when schools were closed because of sub-zero weather here in Milwaukee. Because of our organization’s personnel policy, she was able to stay home with her kids. At 6:30 that morning, a woman she recognized but did not know from her neighborhood knocked at her door holding the hand of a 5-year-old boy.
She asked whether Teresa was staying home that day, and then said, “You look like a nice person. Will you watch my son? I’ll be fired if I don’t go in.” The lack of paid time off puts many working parents in desperate situations.
All over the country, parents are losing jobs or vital income because of conflicting orders: public health officials instructing parents to keep kids home, and bosses threatening to fire workers who don’t come in. No one should be out in the cold for being a good parent. Sign this petition to demand justice for Rhiannon Broschat. And in addition to justice for Rhiannon, we need justice for all workers. Join with us to pass flexible sick days policies locally and for the whole nation.
Cupcake Royale has six locations in Seattle, where businesses are required to offer employees paid sick days.
Most New York City businesses, big and small, will soon be required to offer paid sick leave to workers.
The city is set to enact a law in April that requires businesses with at least 15 employees to offer paid sick days. Mayor Bill de Blasio wants to go even further and require it from businesses with at least five employees
Some business owners are wary of the proposed regulation.Not only would they have to pay the worker who stayed home sick, but in some cases, they would be paying a second worker to cover the shift.
But similar policies have worked in places like San Francisco, Seattle, Washington D.C., and Connecticut — without hurting small businesses.
“Most employers want to offer their staff paid sick leave — it’s good for morale,” said Andrew Rigie, executive director of the New York City Hospitality Alliance, which has yet to take a stance on de Blasio’s proposal.
And it’s good for business. Restaurant owners want to ensure their servers aren’t giving you the flu with your coffee, said Joshua Welter, a director at the Main Street Alliance.
But Rigie questions de Blasio’s timing, especially since the existing law is already set to go into effect.
“We’re just concerned about the smallest employers that are already struggling,” Rigie said.
Jody Hall owns a chain of cupcake stores in Seattle and was also concerned about an undue burden on the smallest businesses.
Hall already offered paid sick days to her 110 employees at Cupcake Royale when Seattle enacted a law requiringit in 2012. Although she’s an advocate for the benefit, she was hesitant to support the law at first.
“We have a vibrant small business community in Seattle and wanted to make sure the ordinance addressed the ability of small businesses to be successful,” Hall said.
She was happy to see that the law enacted a tiered policy, meaning businesses with under 50 employees are required to offer fewer paid sick days per staff member than larger businesses. And those smaller employers don’t have to pay wages for any sick day until the employee has worked there for six months.
One year after the law went into effect, a study from the Main Street Alliance found no evidence that it had negatively impacted the economy.
The same was true in San Francisco, where a similar law was enacted in 2007. There, all employers, no matter the size, have to offer at least five paid sick days per year (or nine days for businesses with more than 10 employees). According to a 2011 study done by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, six out of seven San Francisco employers said their profitability didn’t suffer as a result.
De Blasio’s push to expand sick paid leaveis part of his larger agenda to address income inequality in the city.
And he’s not the only one pushing those issues. Just across the Hudson River, paid sick day mandates have been recently approved in Jersey City and Newark.
Thanks to the work of people like you, we passed Washington’s first statewide paid sick days bill in the House this past January.
Washington Work and Family Coalition 