Paid Family Leave | Policy and Legislation

Washington Family Leave Coalition’s History of Success

In the late 1980s, advocates and legislators in Washington passed pioneering family leave legislation. Success in the states led to passage of the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) in 1993. The FMLA provides up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave to workers in companies of 50 or more to care for a new child, an ill family member, or their own serious health condition.

Despite fierce opposition by some business lobbies, the FMLA proved a resounding success. It has allowed millions of Americans flexibility when their families needed them most, and its passage was followed by eight years of robust economic growth.

But the FMLA has major flaws:
1. More than 40% of workers remain uncovered, with no rights to family leave.
2. It provides no pay – and few families can afford to go long without a pay check.
3. It provides no leave for routine medical needs or minor illnesses.

In 1999, a Family Leave Coalition came together again in Washington to advocate for updated state policies that meet the needs of today’s families and businesses. Led by the Economic Opportunity Institute and supported by dozens of organizations [links] and hundreds of individuals, the coalition has been strategic, resourceful, and successful in passing legislation that helps all Washington’s families and businesses thrive.

Recent Family Leave Successes

  • 2001 – Designed and introduced family and medical leave insurance - first state without an existing state disability insurance program to introduce legislation.
  • 2002 – Passed the Family Care Act, updating the 1988 law to allow workers to use most forms of paid leave to care for ill children, spouses, parents, parents-in-law, and grandparents.
  • 2003 – Introduced first-in-the-nation minimum paid leave bill.
  • 2006 – Passed the Washington Family and Medical Leave Act. Similar to the federal FMLA, Washington’s FMLA protects state workers if federal law or rules change to limit workers’ access to FMLA leave.
  • 2007 – Passed Family Leave Insurance. Beginning in October 2009, workers in Washington will be able to take up to 5 weeks off to care for a newborn or newly adopted child, with a $250 per week benefit.
  • 2008 - Secured start-up funds for the Family Leave Insurance program and established the Employment Security Department as the administering agency.

Washington State

2008 - Family Leave Insurance

To ensure the Family Leave Insurance Program is ready to provide benefits in 2009, Governor Gregoire recommended and the Washington Legislature appropriated $6.2 million for start-up costs. The Governor and Legislature also directed that the Employment Security Department design and administer the program following efficiencies recommended by the Family Leave Taskforce, composed of representatives of business, labor, working families, and both parties of the legislature. These efficiencies save $5.2 million in one-time start-up costs and $1.7 million annually in on-going administrative costs. Read more about Family Leave Insurance in the 2008 Legislature here.

2007 - Family Leave Insurance

Governor Chris Gregoire signed family leave insurance into law on May 8, 2007. Washington is the second state in the nation with paid family leave for all new parents. (California and New Jersey were first and third, respectively.) The Family Leave Insurance bill originally introduced proposed a broader program also covering care of ill family members and a worker’s own illness, paid for through a 2 cent per hour payroll tax. However, the Legislature opted for a one-step-at-a-time approach.

Washington's new family leave program will provide up to 5 weeks of time off with a benefit of $250 for all parents taking leave from work to care for a newborn or newly adopted child. Key policy elements include coverage for all employees who have worked at least 680 hours in the previous year, job protection for workers in companies of more than 25 and a start-up date of October 1, 2009. | Read SB 5659 | Read HB 1658

Testimony:
  • L.W.: caring for spouse under California family leave program
  • Selena: caring for newborn
  • Justin: new dad
  • Nicole: new mom
  • Sean: caring for dying father
  • Meena Rishi, economics instructor, Seattle University
  • Professor Ellen Bravo, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, to Family and Medical Leave Insurance Work Session and Committee Hearings
  • Marilyn Watkins, Ph.D., Policy Director, Economic Opportunity Institute, to House Commerce and Labor Committee
  • Sharon Ness, RN, to House Commerce Labor Committee

2005 - Family and Medical Leave Act

The Washington Family and Medical Leave Act does not provide new rights, but ensures the continuation of protections workers and their families in Washington state now have under the federal FMLA. The Act guarantees: up to 12 weeks of unpaid time off to care for a new child, seriously ill child, spouse, or parent, or the worker's own serious health condition; job protection while on leave; availability to employees who have worked a full year and for at least 1250 hours (in companies with 50 or more workers or in public jobs); and preserves the definition of serious health condition and terms for use of intermittent leave currently in U.S. Department of Labor rules. | Read SB 6185 | Read HB 2392

Testimony

2002 - Family Care Act

Governor Gary Locke signed the Family Care bill into law on March 29, 2002. Employees in Washington state are entitled to use sick leave or other paid time off to care for an ill spouse, child under 18, disabled child over age 18, parent, parent-in-law, or grandparent. Washington's Family Leave Coalition worked hard for the bill's passage. | Read SB 6426 | Read HB 2364