The following news release is being distributed this morning by the Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO:

Nearly half of the workers in Washington state get no paid sick leave from their employers. With the birth or adoption of a child, even workers who are fortunate enough to have good benefit packages are often forced to exhaust their vacation and sick leave and spend their savings just to spend some time bonding with their babies and adopted children.

As WSLC President Rick Bender pointed out in a recent column, "Almost every other nation on this planet makes sure that its citizens can afford to take time away from work during the stressful, critical transition to parenthood. We don’t."

The federal Family and Medical Leave Act provides up to 12 weeks of leave for such events, but about half of the private workforce is not covered by the FMLA -- which only covers businesses with 50 or more employees -- and even if they are covered, the FMLA only provides unpaid leave.  A U.S. Department of Labor study found that 78% of those who needed leave did not take it. The most common reason people don't take leave when a family member really needs their care is because they simply can't afford it.

That's why the Washington State Labor Council joined a broad coalition of organizations, businesses and advocates for working mothers and families in supporting SB 5659.  

In 2004, California became the first state to approve paid family leave coverage, offering coverage for both bonding with a new child and for dealing with the serious illness of a family member. The program has proven so successful that, in addition to Washington, several other states --including Oregon, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts and Illinois -- were also considering the creation of family leave insurance programs this year.

As originally filed, SB 5659 would have provided all Washington workers with partial pay for up to five weeks at a stipend of $250 a week (pro-rated for part-timers) when they must deal with a serious illness of their own or a family member, including domestic partners, or for the birth or adoption of a child. The insurance program was to have been financed by a 2-cents-an-hour payroll deduction on workers. That means for a premium of about $20-$40 a year, all workers in Washington state would have had Family and Medical Leave Insurance coverage, and the security of knowing they can afford to take some time off work when they have a family health emergency or when they welcome a new child into their family.

But SB 5659 was significantly scaled back from its original form during the legislative process (see the bill history below).

Strong Support for Family Leave

Three of four Washington voters (73%) support creating a worker-funded Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FMLI) program covering all workers in Washington state, according to a poll conducted in March by Lake Research Partners, a respected national polling firm. In Eastern Washington, the support rose to a remarkable 82%. An Elway Poll also measured strong support for worker-funded FMLI.

Dozens of business owners and advocates for working families and mothers testified before the Legislature in support of SB 5659. A survey of 48 small business owners and managers in both urban and rural parts of Western Washington, conducted by the Economic Opportunity Institute, found that 85% of those interviewed support FMLI. (See a list of some of the businesses that support the FMLI.)

The most common reason given was that FMLI would help small businesses retain dependable employees, especially part-time workers who receive no sick pay or vacation benefits. Often these employees are forced to quit their jobs when they must care for a sick family member or a new baby arrives.

The original SB 5659 would have provided coverage for workers to take paid leave when faced with a serious personal health condition or one in their family, plus it included the 2-cents-an-hour worker payroll deduction to pay for it. It also included strict standards to protect employers:

• A one-week waiting period before benefits start
• A requirement for medical certification of a serious health condition, with verification by the Department of Labor and Industries (which administers the program)
• Benefits run concurrently with FMLA, may not be “tacked on” to other job-protected leave
• Employers must be notified when leave will begin and end
• Employers may require workers to periodically report on their status during leave
• Right of employers to appeal

But in the Senate, SB 5659 was amended to address some of the concerns raised by business lobbying groups in Olympia. The Senate-amended version stipulated that:

• Coverage for the worker's own health conditions was removed after some opponents argued that this should be covered by employer-provided sick leave instead.
• Although all workers are entitled to receive the benefit regardless of the size of their employer, only businesses with more than 25 employees are required to provide job protection (meaning the workers who take paid leave must be returned to their equivalent jobs). 
• Employers of 50 or fewer can receive a B&O tax credit of up to $1,200 for each replacement worker hired for someone out on family leave

This revised version of SB 5659 passed the Senate on a 32-17 vote in March, with the family health condition coverage and the program's 2-cents-an-hour financing still intact. 

In the House, the bill was further amended to strip all coverage for family health emergencies and to delay the decision on how to finance the program by creating a task force to make that recommendation. That version passed on a 61-36 vote in April. The bill was reconciled between the two houses with the Senate reluctantly agreeing to the House's scaled-back version. (The second Senate vote was 26-21 because some Senators were disappointed with the changes.)

But again, after six years of debate and policy revision, the Washington State Labor Council and other family leave advocates strongly supported the compromise bill signed today by Gov. Gregoire as an historic step forward for Washington state.