Paid Family Leave | Press

Helping working mothers benefits the rest of society

05.14.2008 | Everett Herald | My own kids are mostly grown up, so I sought out two younger women this week to hear their perspectives on being a working mother today. Both women recognized that they were fortunate -- with two incomes and supportive employers. Even so, struggles with child care, commutes and rising prices took a toll. "We need help," they concluded. | More

National paid family leave legislation introduced

04.22.2008 | Representatives Pete Stark (D-CA), George Miller (D-CA), Lynn Woolsey (D-CA) and Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) today introduced landmark legislation to provide workers with 12 weeks of paid leave in order to care for a new child, a sick family member, recover from an illness, or because of an exigency arising from the deployment of a member of the armed services. The “Family Leave Insurance Act of 2008” will provide families with the support and flexibility they need and businesses with improved productivity and employee morale. | Read

N.J. to allow paid family leave; Boosters push for similar law in New York

04.12.2008 | Times Herald-Record | New Jersey is about to become the third state in the nation to require paid family leave, prompting approval from advocacy groups and anger from some business organizations. A similar measure has been hovering in the halls of the New York State Legislature, and advocates are pushing for its passage. | Read

New Jersey Approves Family Leave Law

04.08.2008 | Philadelphia Inquirer | New Jersey's paid family leave measure received final legislative approval today in the state Senate. The bill, which already cleared the Assembly, was approved in a 21-15 vote. "I know this type of leave time is necessary because I've been there myself," said Majority Leader Stephen Sweeney, (D., Gloucester), referring to the birth of his 14-year-old daughter, Lauren, who remained in intensive care for 75 days after she was born. "In my case, I had an understanding employer, but I can't say the same for all of New Jersey's workers." The bill heads to Gov. Corzine's desk; the governor has announced his support for the measure. | Read

Paid family leave is on track, and costs were lowered

04.04.2008 | Puget Sound Business Journal | Ask any parent, and he or she will tell you that bringing a new life into the world takes equal parts courage and hope. Ask any business owner, and that person will tell you that supporting the employees is good for the bottom line. That's why we're proud that Washington's Family Leave Insurance program is on track to deliver benefits to our families and businesses in October 2009. | Read (subscription required)

Washington stumbles toward landmark paid family leave

04.04.2008 | Crosscut.com | It's a glass-half-full or half-empty kind of a story: A year ago, Washington became only the second state in the nation to legislate paid family leave. This year, legislators failed to provide the program with a permanent funding source, but their budget did give it an administrative home and start-up funding of $6.2 million. Now it's likely New Jersey will pass Washington by, becoming the second state (after California) to implement paid family leave — and a more generous program than Washington's at that. | Read

Family matters - State lawmakers must find a way to pay for parental leave

03.14.2008 | Seattle Business Journal | Last year, Washington lawmakers created a family medical leave provision. The original idea was to let workers take paid time off to care for sick family members or a newborn or to recover from a disability. Workers would pay the cost. Through a 2-cent-an-hour tax on their wages...they would receive $250 a week for up to five weeks of time off. ... We believe an employee-funded solution is the right approach, and are encouraged at what appear to be moves toward compromise. | Read (subscription)

New Jersey Assembly Approves Paid Leave to Care for Baby or Ailing Kin

03.14.2008 | New York Times | New Jersey moved closer to becoming the third state in the country to give employees the right to paid family leave. Legislation going to that state's Senate next week will offer people six weeks of paid leave to care for a newborn or sick family member at two-thirds of their salary, up to $524 a week. The measure would be financed by employee payroll deductions that would cost every worker in New Jersey a maximum of 64 cents a week, or $33 a year. | Read

New Jersey Senate Votes for Leave to Care for Kin

03.04.2008 | New York Times | After an unusually emotional debate bursting with political indignation and personal anguish, the State Senate narrowly approved legislation Monday that would make New Jersey the third state in the nation to give employees the right to take paid leave to care for a newborn or a sick relative. | Read

Paid family leave bill to be addressed in state budget

02.20.2008 | Associated Press | A blueprint for running the state's paid family leave program has been shelved by its proponents, who say they'll handle the details in the upcoming state budget. Sen. Karen Keiser, D-Kent, said she and a fellow Democrat, Rep. Mary Lou Dickerson of Seattle, decided to pull the bill because they feared Republicans would use up valuable floor time Tuesday debating the merits of the overall program, which became law last year. | Read

Family-leave program needs funding source

02.10.2008 | The Olympian | Creation of paid family leave to care for a newborn or newly adopted baby was a bold step forward by the 2007 Legislature. But a new program like paid leave is meaningless unless lawmakers decide how to pay for it. And now it appears that legislators have punted on that question two years in a row. | Read

Paid leave deserves to pass

02.08.2008 | New Jersey Star Ledger | It's hard to understand the hostile reaction of the business community to the idea of allowing a worker time off to care for an infant or a seriously ill child or a parent coping with the medical conditions that accompany advanced age. Such opposition is especially tough to comprehend because companies wouldn't have to pay a dime. | Read

State senators debate approved family leave bill

02.07.2008 | Columbia Basin Herald | An amended version of Senate Bill 6280, which details the family leave bill's implementation, was approved by the Labor, Commerce, and Research and Development Committee on Monday for consideration by another committee. | Read

Family leave

01.28.2008 | New Jersey Voices | Family Leave may make it to New Jersey. Senate bill S786 was approved by committee today and will be sent to the full state Senate for consideration. But not if the Chamber of Commerce and its allies have their way. That, by the way, should include the ideologically driven concern trolls that frequent these environs. On the anti-government side, the rhetoric has been ramped up to inspire fear of impending disaster. | Read

Family Leave: Fairer treatment

01.25.2008 | Seattle Post-Intelligencer | When it comes to the first few weeks after a child's birth, the state of Washington plans to give parents a small taste of the fair treatment that is the standard worldwide. To make that happen, the Legislature has some work to do. | Read

Look for a focused legislative session

01.13.2008 | The Olympian | One bit of important business remains from the 2007 session when lawmakers approved a paid family leave program scheduled to begin in 2009. | Read

Great Happiness Awaits Those Who Fully Fund Family Leave Insurance

MomsRising.org to Deliver Fortune Cookies with Messages Urging Full Funding for Family Leave Insurance Law to Legislators

01.16.2008 | MomsRising.org | Good fortune will smile on state legislators who support legislation to fully fund Washington State’s Family Leave Insurance law, according to online grassroots activist organization, MomsRising.org. MomsRising.org members will be at the state capitol in Olympia to deliver fortune cookies regarding continued support of fully funding Family Leave Insurance. | Read

NJ family-leave bill: Compassion vs. cost

12.31.2007 | Philadelphia Inquirer | Advocates of New Jersey legislation that would provide paid family leave in such situations say there should be no regrets: Serrano should have had that time. Nice sentiment, say opponents, but not so fast. | Read

Lawmaker says tax needed to fund family leave act

12.26.2007 | Tri-City Herald | However the state chooses to pay for its new paid family leave benefit, it ought to be from a dedicated fund and possibly approved by voters, state Sen. Karen Keiser told the Herald editorial board last week. | Read

Voters may settle family leave

12.26.2007 | The Olympian | A state lawmaker says she is open to sending a tax package to voters that would create a long-term means to pay for the state's new paid-family leave program. | Read

Family leave a wise investment for our state

12.18.2007 | Tacoma News Tribune | Our state’s paramount duty is to provide for the education of all of Washington’s children. Family leave insurance assures that our children benefit from the care of their first and best teachers – their parents. | Read

Joint Legislative Task Force Issues Family Leave Recommendations

12.17.2007 | Washington Family Leave Coalition | One-time start-up costs and initial benefits for family leave insurance will be paid from the state’s general fund, and the Employment Security Department will administer the program, if legislators adopt the final recommendations of Washington’s Joint Legislative Task Force on Family Insurance in 2008. | Read

Media Advisory: Washington Family Leave Coalition Press Conference

12.11.2007 | Washington Family Leave Coalition| With supporting statements from members of the Washington Joint Legislative Task Force on Family Leave, the Washington Family Leave Coalition will present a large (2 foot by 3 foot) letter addressed to state legislators, signed by dozens of Washington business owners in support of family leave insurance. | Read

WVU professor: U.S. behind in protecting work-life balance

12.11.2007 | West Virginia University | The United States lags behind other developed countries in protecting workers in areas such as family leave, and the situation will only become more acute as workers care for their aging baby boomer parents and their own children, says a West Virginia University professor in a recently published book. | Read

Time to Care Major Factor in Gaps at School

12.09.2007 | New York Times | A new study by the Educational Testing Service - which develops and administers more than 50 million standardized tests annually, including the SAT, concludes that an awful lot of low test scores can be explained by factors that have nothing to do with schools...like high-quality day care and paid maternity leave. | Read

Task Force Recommends General Fund for Family Leave Insurance Start-Up

11.15.2007 | The Olympian | Money to pay for Washington's fledgling paid family leave program will have to come from the state's general fund, a task force decided Wednesday. | Read

Dramatic Savings When Parents Care for Kids' Illnesses

11.07.2007 | UCLA/Johnson & Johnson Health Care Institute | New research proves that a "dose" of hands-on health care training can transform parents' abilities to care for common childhood ailments at home -- and save Medicaid millions of dollars annually. | Read

Gift of trees supports family leave: Moms thank task force for work on family leave insurance

09.26.2007 | Washington Family Leave Coalition | Mothers testifying at the Washington State Family Leave Insurance Joint Legislative Task Force presented trees adorned with messages thanking task force members for “helping Washington’s families grow stronger.” | Read

New Poll Shows Strong Support for Family Leave Insurance: State Task Force Encouraged By Results

09.26.2007 | Washington Family Leave Coalition | Members of task force charged with helping implement Washington’s family leave law were buoyed by results from a nationwide poll of frequent voters that show strong support for a family leave insurance fund to provide income for parents on leave while caring for a newborn or newly-adopted child. | Read

New report calls for family leave insurance

09.26.2007 | EOI | "Family Values at Work" documents the consequences on workers, families, businesses and the nation when family values end at the workplace door. The document details the wrenching stories of workers suffering from the lack of family-friendly work rules, summarizes key research, and lays out a policy agenda modest compared to that of other advanced nations yet urgently needed by U.S. workers and their families. | Read

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

Suburban moms rise up to back paid family leave

04.04.2007 | Everett Herald | Last Thursday legislators and lobbyists in Olympia were greeted with a unique form of political performance art. Walking from one building to another, they all passed by a display of "onesies." For those of us who may have forgotten, these are infant undershirts that snap at the crotch for easy diaper changing. Now why would anyone want to decorate and hang up 250 "onesies" in the state capitol? The "onesie" exhibitors brought attention to the need for family leave insurance in our state. They are part of a new organization called MomsRising. | Read

A humane culture shouldn't discourage caring for family

03.07.2007 | Everett Herald | I am lucky that my employer has a family leave policy, to provide partial pay if and when I have to take time away to care for my parents. Most workers in Washington don't have this benefit. Washington legislators have a chance to make family leave a reality not only for the well-off among us, but for all workers. | Read

State must step up if Bush rolls back family medical leave

01.11.2006 | Tacoma News Tribune | Legislation is being sponsored to create a state family and medical leave act. It would replicate the provisions in the federal law, so that if the Bush administration succeeds in rolling back family and medical leave, we will still be protected in our state. This proposal isn’t rocket science – it is more like good business as usual. All the major corporations in our state – among them Boeing, Weyerhaeuser, Safeco and Costco – are already providing family and medical leave under the provisions of the federal law. | Read

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

Paid family leave would be the best Father's Day gift

06.19.2005 | The News Tribune | Our society tends to gloss over the absolutely critical role that fathers have when a new child enters the family. We tend to talk about moms and babies, and we often overlook the importance of fathers as the new family comes into being. | Read

Moms push for family leave bill but businesses oppose it

03.28.2005 | Seattle Post-Intelligencer | Advocates of a proposal went before state lawmakers to testify in favor of providing five weeks of paid time off for Washington workers caring for new babies or sick relatives. But business owners say the family leave bill would jeopardize their survival -- and that's left the measure in political jeopardy. | Read

Democrats press for 5 weeks of family leave with pay

02.02.2005 | Seattle Times | Democrats in the state Legislature say they have their best chance in years to give Washington employees up to five weeks of paid family medical leave — and a guarantee that they would still have a job when they return. | 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 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

California Launches Paid Family Leave Program - Washington Legislators Plan Similar Program, Polls Support Policy Change

07.01.2004 | EOI | On July 1, California’s new Paid Family Leave Law goes into effect, providing most Californians six weeks of partial pay when taking leave from work to care for a seriously ill parent, spouse, child, or domestic partner, or to bond with a new baby, foster, or adopted child. State Senator Karen Keiser and State Representative Mary Lou Dickerson plan to propose a similar program for Washington. | Read

Statewide poll shows strong support for family leave

11.01.2000 | EOI | Results from a statewide poll commissioned by the Economic Opportunity Institute indicate that a vast majority of Washington residents favor expanding family leave benefits and are willing to pay for it. | Read