Whether caring for their children, an elderly parent, partner or themselves, all workers occasionally need access to paid time off to look after their own health and that of their loved ones. Yet 43% of American workers in private firms receive no paid sick days – over 1 million workers in Washington state. One-fourth of workers get no vacation, and 92% get no paid family leave.
In today’s economy, all workers need access to paid sick days for minor illnesses and routine health care needs, and family and medical leave insurance for the handful of times when they need extended time away from work to care for a new baby, a seriously ill family member, or their own critical illness.
Modernizing our workplace standards will pay off for everyone by protecting family economic security, giving children a healthy start in life and promoting family health, promoting business productivity, and improving public health and safety.
Paid Sick Days
In 2007, San Francisco became the first U.S.city to adopt paid sick days legislation. Since then, both Washington, D.C. and Milwaukee, WI have adopted similar measures, prompting serious consideration of the measure by other cities across the nation, including New York City and Philadelphia.
In September 2011, the City of Seattle passed the Paid Sick and Safe Leave ordinance, giving thousands of workers in the City of Seattle the ability to stay home with a sick child or to recover from their own illness – without risking their paycheck.
Paid Family Leave
Currently, there is no federal law guaranteeing paid family leave, but unpaid leave may be available to employees in businesses with 50+ workers under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act. Thanks to the efforts of the Washington Family Leave Coalition, Washington State’s Family and Medical Leave Act guarantees Washington workers those same benefits, regardless of any future changes in federal law.
Washington State’s Family Care Act allows workers with available paid sick leave or other paid time off to care for a sick child with a routine illness; a spouse, domestic partner, parent, parent-in-law, grandparent, or adult child with a serious or emergency health condition.
Around the country
California added paid family leave to its long-standing temporary disability insurance (TDI) program in 2004 and New Jersey did the same in July 2009. Three other states – New York, Rhode Island and Hawaii – have TDI programs that include paid leave following childbirth, but have not yet added paid family leave.
For more information on your rights, contact your state’s office of Labor and Industries and the human resources department at your place of work.
