Press Releases | 2005

Verdict Is In On California's Paid Family Leave Law

07.08.2005 | EOI | In its first year, California's paid family leave is doing exactly what it was intended to do: providing critical time off for mothers and fathers to care for a new child or for caregivers to care for an ill family member. Legislation is planned for Washington state. | Read

Press Conference: Health Benefits at Wal-Mart

06.01.2005 | EOI | More than 3,200 Wal-Mart workers are on active duty. To help them, Wal-Mart claims that they continue their benefits and make up the difference between their military pay and the regular Wal-Mart wages. That’s not a very difficult thing to do when only 48% of Wal-Mart employees are covered by Wal-Mart’s health insurance and the employees end up paying 40% of the cost. | Read

Report Highlights Options to Restore Washington's Estate Tax

03.28.2005 | EOI | The Economic Opportunity Institute (EOI) today released “Washington’s Estate Tax: Protecting Our State’s Resources” which evaluates several options for restoring the estate tax. Because the federal estate tax has been eliminated, the state courts have ruled that Washington’s estate tax is invalid. The loss to the state is approximately $280 million in the next biennium. | Read

House and Senate to Hear Testimony On Paid Family Leave Bills

01.28.2005 | EOI | SB 5069 and HB 1173 propose a premium of one-cent per hour worked, paid by both the employer and employee (2 cents total), to fund Paid Leave benefits when a worker needs to take time off to care for an ill family member, a newborn or newly adopted child, or his/her own illness. Benefits include job protection and Paid Leave of up to $250 per week for five weeks. | Read

House and Senate Bills Provide for Easy Way to Save for Retirement

01.27.2005 | EOI | Washington Voluntary Accounts give workers the chance to participate in a defined-contribution retirement savings plan at their workplace. | Read

House and Senate Bills Designed to Balance Work and Family Responsibilities

01.24.2005 | EOI | Senator Karen Keiser and Representative Mary Lou Dickerson have submitted companion bills, Senate Bill 5069 and House Bill 1173, to provide paid leave benefits to workers who must take time off to care for their families. | Read