Washington Senate leads family leave insurance push

OLYMPIA – Working families would not be forced to choose between their job and their family if the family leave insurance measure passed by the state Senate today is signed into law.

Sen. Karen Keiser, D-Kent, is the sponsor of the family leave measure, Senate Bill 5659, which would allow workers to take up to five weeks of paid leave to spend time with a newborn or newly placed child, or to care for a seriously ill family member. It passed the state Senate by a vote of 32 to17.

“This is a huge step forward for all of Washington’s working families. It’s a common-sense program that places our state in the frontline of family friendly workplace policy,” Keiser said. “Washington voters overwhelmingly support the earning of leave by employees for use in times when families most need each other. It’s time we recognize that the lives of Washington’s working families need a better balance between what happens in the workplace and what happens at home.”

The bill would allow a benefit of up to $250 a week, for a maximum of five weeks. The program would be funded by a premium of 2 cents per hour paid by employees starting Jan. 1, 2009. A B&O tax credit would be given to employers of fewer than 50 employees to cover the cost of hiring a replacement worker. For purposes of the bill, the return-to-work rights of employees are limited to businesses with at least 25 employees.

Presently, paid sick leave is not available to nearly half of all workers. Paid vacation leave is unavailable to nearly one-third of all workers, and even those with paid vacation often have just two weeks a year.

“It’s a sad fact that benefits in the workplace are eroding while workers have seen their hours of work increase year after year,” Keiser said. “At a modest level of premium and benefit, this bill will create a better balance between work and family so workers won’t be forced to choose between their job and their families.”

SB 5659 now goes to the House of Representatives for further consideration.

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