Washington Work and Family Coalition

21 Years after the FMLA, Cities and States Can Lead the Fight for Family Leave

Today the federal Family and Medical Leave Act turns 21. The law has helped millions of Americans take time off work to nurture their newborn child, care for a critically ill family member, or recover from their own serious health condition. But America’s families will not regain economic security until all workers have access to paid leave for health and family care. With Congress locked in dysfunctional bickering, cities and states will have to lead the way – and we in Washington state are proud to be part of that fight.

Women now make up half the workforce. More than two-thirds of Washington state school kids have all their parents in the labor force, and ever growing numbers of workers are providing care for aging family members. But women still earn far from equal pay – even with the same qualifications and in the same jobs as men. Mothers especially experience rampant discrimination. Single mothers and their children are shockingly likely to live in poverty.

The FMLA provides only for unpaid leave. It doesn’t cover workers in smaller companies, those who have changed jobs in the past year or work less than 1,250 hours for the same employer. It also can’t be used for preventive medical care or routine illnesses like the flu or a child’s fever. Without policy standards, 40% of workers don’t get a single paid sick day, and only 12% are provided paid family leave benefits by their employers.

Those statistics mean that working moms like Alma are forced to go to work when their child is sick. Too many woman go back to work a few days following childbirth, like Selena did so she could save her few precious weeks of paid time off for when her premature baby was released from the hospital. And working women like Evelin suffer unnecessary financial and emotional stress because of their parent’s illness.

Washington state is helping lead the movement for change, with policy innovation at the local level. Seattle’s Paid Sick and Safe Leave Law has been protecting working families like Monica’s, and helping the local economy thrive since September 2012. Now campaigns for sick leave are underway in Tacoma and under consideration in other cities around the state.

In the state legislature, a bill based on the Seattle sick leave policy passed the House just last week with a strong assist from Washington’s Work and Family Coalition. Unfortunately, the bill faces an uphill battle in the Senate, which is more likely to pass legislation seeking to overturn city sick days and minimum wage laws.

The Work and Family Coalition has also developed a family and medical leave insurance proposal that would assure all workers have a source of income during those occasions when they must take extended time to care – when a new baby is born, cancer strikes, or a parent becomes seriously ill. We know paid family and medical leave will improve outcomes for young children, seniors, and working families. In the states with insurance programs already in place, parents not only take longer leaves to care for a new child, but new moms are less likely to go on public assistance or food stamps, and are more likely to be employed – and at higher wages – a year following birth.

Paid leave policies may seem like common sense, but winning change won’t be easy. There are powerful lobbying groups representing mega corporations whose owners flourish under the status quo and view any policies to empower working women and the middle class as a threat.

Let’s not wait for another flu epidemic to pass paid sick days. Let’s not allow another whole generation of kids to be born without paid family leave. Our elected representatives in city councils, the state legislature, and Congress need to hear from us loud and often that we expect them to act.

Lawmakers rally in support of paid sick days

This week, lawmakers in the state House stood with Washington’s working families and passed the legislature’s first paid sick and safe days bill. The bill’s prime sponsor, Representative Laurie Jinkins (D-Tacoma), along with her colleagues shared rousing testimony in support of paid sick and safe days.

Here are some of our favorite quotes.

“The Centers for Disease Control have told us that upwards of 80 percent of norovirus that’s transmitted across the nation is from sick food service workers. Now a lot of people don’t know what norovirus is Mr. Speaker but just let me tell you, it’s a gift you don’t want to be given. The thing about it is, it doesn’t have to be this way. We can do something about it.” – Representative Laurie Jinkins

“I rise in support of sick and safe leave. Sometimes we get so focused on the nuts and bolts of the legislation that we forget about the real people that it’s impacting so let’s put a face to the people that’ were talking about right now. I want to tell you about a woman named Jennifer, a restaurant worker in east King County, who went home one night and was almost beaten to death.” – Representative Tana Senn

“I rise in support of this bill, this very personal bill to me. When I got my diagnosis last February, one of the first things that ran through my mind was with cancer how many days I was going to have to be off of work. My wife is a homemaker and if I don’t work no one gets paid, the family has no income.” – Representative Roger Freeman

“This bill reminds me less of those other bills whether it’s minimum wage or other things then it does a bill that’s very near and dear to my heart, that’s now the law of the land, and…went into effect 20 years ago and that’s the Americans with Disabilities Act. You know when the ADA was being debated in Congress over 20 some years ago you heard a lot of the same arguments from business. You may have even heard a line like a job with no wheelchair ramp is better than no job at all. But we know that’s not true.” – Representative Cyrus Habib

You can see video of the representatives’ full remarks over on EOI’s blog.

State House passes Washington’s first statewide paid sick days bill

HB 1313 establishes new minimum standards for 1 million Washington workers –one-third of the state’s workforce – to accrue paid sick and safe time

Olympia | Today, the Washington State House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed HB 1313 – a bill establishing minimum standards for earned paid sick and safe time. The bill will protect 1 million Washington workers who do not currently have access to paid sick days.

“No working family should be forced to leave a sick child at home or go to work with the flu for fear of losing their paycheck. Today’s paid sick days bill means they won’t have to,” stated Representative Laurie Jinkins, the bill’s prime sponsor. “I am proud of how small businesses, community groups, faith leaders and workers have come together with lawmakers to pass a bill that strengthens our families and communities.”

HB 1313 will allow employees to earn 5 to 9 days of paid sick and safe leave, depending on the employer’s size. The bill will bring new sick leave protection to hundreds of thousands of workers including 140,000 in accommodation and food service, 150,000 in retail and 90,000 in health care and social assistance. Paid sick days are a responsible way to prevent the spread of disease and keep communities healthy by encouraging sick workers and children to stay home – away from co-workers, schoolmates, and customers.

“As a business owner, I can tell you that paid sick days are good for my customers and my workers,” stated Makini Howell, chef and owner of three restaurants and a food truck. “My business has continued to grow and expand under Seattle’s paid sick days law, with new locations and jobs. My employees work hard to make my business successful, and they deserve to have the basic security of a couple paid sick days to take care of themselves or their children.”

Under HB 1313, employees will accrue 1 hour of paid sick leave time for every 40 hours worked or for every 30 hours worked if their employer has over 250 full-time employees. Workers may use sick and safe time for their own illness or injury, diagnosis or preventative care, or for the health needs of a child, spouse, domestic partner, parent-in-law or grandparent. Workers may also use sick and safe time to cope with the consequences of domestic abuse, sexual assault or stalking. The bill was sponsored by Representatives Farrell, Morrell, Green, Dunshee, Lytton, Sawyer, Sells, Fitzgibbon, Riccelli, Moeller, Appleton, Reykdal, Roberts, Ryu, Pollet and Moscoso.

“Today, the Washington State House of Representatives took a step toward strengthening the economic security of working families,” stated Marilyn Watkins, director of the Washington Work and Family Coalition. “Washington’s families, communities and economy will be stronger when working people have enough income to cover the basics while protecting their own health and caring for their loved ones.”

“It is a great day for workers and our communities. A big thanks to the members in the House who supported this and particularly Rep. Jinkins who championed the bill. The Senate should take up this bill now and pass it so we have paid sick and safe days for workers across the state,” said Sarah Cherin Political and Public Policy Director of UFCW 21.

Across the country, states and cities are taking action to expand access to paid sick days. Connecticut, Jersey City, Newark, New York City, Portland, OR, San Francisco, SeaTac, Seattle and Washington D.C. have passed laws allowing workers to accrue paid sick leave.

The Washington Work and Family Coalition includes representatives of seniors, women, labor, health professionals, children’s advocates, faith communities, low-income workers, employers, non-profits and other organizations working to create access to paid sick days, paid family and medical leave and improve modern workplace standards.

Media contact: Maggie Humphreys, maggie@eoionline.org

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