Employers, employees contribute to program through payroll tax

Washington has become the fifth state to require paid family leave for employees.

“It’s going to be the best paid family leave program the country. It has better weeks, better benefits, and we’ll be the model for the other states,” said Sen. Karen Keiser, D-Kent, one of the lead Democratic negotiators on the bill by Sen. Joe Fain, R-Auburn.

“To someone with a serious illness, that means it doesn’t have to be poverty for that individual. ….Twenty-five percent of new moms have to go back to work two weeks after giving birth,” Fain said.

From the Mid-Columbia, Sen. Maureen Walsh, R-Walla Walla, and Rep Larry Haler, R-Richland, supported paid family leave.

Sen. Sharon Brown, R-Kennewick, and Reps. Bill Jenkin, R-Prosser, Terry Nealey, R-Dayton, Brad Klippert, R-Kennewick, and Mary Dye, R- Pomeroy, opposed it.

“Washington state will have the best paid family leave program in the United States. It’s the product of both Republicans and Democrats, plus business, plus labor, and paid family leave advocates,” Inslee said July 5 as he signed the bill into law in front of about 100 people at the Capitol Dome.

The Tri-City Regional Chamber of Commerce issued a statement on the bill: “In 2007, the state created a family leave program; however, this program did not achieve its potential due to lack of funding. The regional chamber is continuing to gather information on this policy. As more details become available, we will share the information with our members.”

The program will be financed by a 0.4 percent deduction on each paycheck beginning in 2019. An employee must work 820 hours at a business before becoming eligible.

In return, the state will provide paid family leave for up to 12 weeks after the birth or adoption of child. And it will provide up to 12 weeks at a time for sick leave for a seriously ill person or for a person to take care of a seriously ill relative. Multiple sick leaves cannot total more than 16 weeks a year with an extra two weeks allowed for pregnancy complications.

Sick leave pay will vary from $100 to $1,000 a week, depending on specific percentages of employees’ wages.

Small businesses who pay all the premiums instead of the workers are eligible for various types of state aid in hiring temporary replacement workers. Companies can voluntarily set up stronger paid family leave programs.

Businesses with fewer than 50 employees are exempt from paying premiums. No matter the business size, employees will pay into the system and are eligible to receive benefits

On June 30, the Senate passed it 37-12, and then the House approved it 65-29.  The program goes into effect on Jan 1, 2020.

California, New Jersey, Rhode Island and New York already have such programs. Thirteen GOP senators supported the bill, while 12 opposed it.

That reflected a bitter internal fight within the Senate Republican caucus over whether to pass it. The GOP controls what goes to a floor vote in the Senate.

Fain’s bill came from more than two months of talks among Republicans, Democrats, business interests and labor group. The powerful Association of Washington Business supported the bill, as did labor and many other business interests.

“The bill is a good compromise policy,” said Bob Battles, representing the Association of Washington Business at a hearing a few days ago.

“There are a heckuva lot of business owners who care about their employees,” said Sen. Marko Liias, D-Edmonds, on June 30.

However, the National Federation of Independent Businesses recently came out strongly against the bill and found allies within the GOP Senate caucus, sparking renewed opposition.

A strong incentive for businesses and the GOP to support Fain’s bill has been the threat of a labor-backed effort to take paid family leave to a public ballot in November.

“As tough as it is for businesses now, it would be tougher down the road,” said Sen. Lynda Wilson, R-Vancouver, who voted for the bill. But Sen. Mike Padden, R-Spokane Valley, countered: “There’s a lot of pressure by lobbyists from big companies to support this. … It’s a job killer.”

Sen. Michael Baumgartner, R-Spokane, argued: “The full context of this is that Washington state is the toughest state in the country for small businesses … It’ll be a burden in an already tough state.”

But Sen. Mark Miloscia, R-Federal Way, replied: “The message we send to the rest of the world on how we treat each other … says volumes about Washington state.”