News & Stories
Policy is personal. So, we want to share more than just data.
Stay up to date with our legislative updates, organizational news, media mentions, and more.
The usual lunchtime crowds are gone from downtown Seattle, as businesses and individuals heed the advice of public health officials to stay home if sick and work from home if they can. That means no more long lines at food trucks, restaurants, and retail shops. We don’t know yet how the COVID-19 crisis will ultimately […]
Washington State and Seattle may be the epicenter for coronavirus in the US. Fortunately, we also have a strong public health system and some of the most comprehensive paid leave laws in the country. The best advice from the CDC and public health officials to avoid getting and spreading disease: Stay home when sick Wash […]
Here’s what we’ve seen since the implementation of Paid Family and Medical Leave in Washington state on January 1, 2020: 35,000 applications submitted; $15 million in benefits delivered to Washington workers; And a whole lot of waiting. Applications are now taking 10 weeks to process, according to the Employment Security Department (ESD) which administers Paid […]
Community colleges provide students with a pathway to higher education that is close to home and more affordable. They are especially attractive to students experiencing various barriers to economic opportunity. Community colleges serve diverse populations, spanning from recent high school graduates earning college credit to transfer to four-year institutions to older students with caretaking responsibilities […]
I started working on paid leave issues in 2011, nearly seven months before my first child was born. Until then, I had never thought about how essential a paid family and medical leave program could be. It had not occurred to me that I may suffer from medical complications, or, God forbid, that my baby […]
Washington’s new Paid Family & Medical Leave program fully launched January 1, 2020 to intense demand. More than 22,000 applications came in during the first month, far more than projected. Washington is the first state to build a PFML program from the ground up. The four states that implemented earlier programs were able to add […]
Just last year, Microsoft and Amazon were heralded for agreeing with the Legislature to increase their taxes to fund free tuition for college students. That narrative has proven false in just a few months. It is false because the tuition-free grant only extends to students in families with income less than 55 percent of the […]
Imagine you have a newborn. You have just had major surgery, a C-section, and are sleep deprived. You’re trying to feed and care for your new baby, manage your stress, and if you’re lucky, take a shower once a week. Losing your health insurance is not just a terrible inconvenience; it’s a matter of life […]
With thanks to our community of supporters, I am thrilled to announce that we not only met our end-of-year fundraising goal, we exceeded it! Your outpouring of support brought in more than $39,000. We are ready to enter the 2020 legislative session with the full strength of our community behind us, and make lasting progress […]
Washington’s Paid Family & Medical Leave program is open for business! You can apply here – and learn how to prepare for future leaves or how to support your employees or coworkers needing leave. Paid leave is available to welcome a new child, care for seriously ill family members, recover from your own serious health […]
I need to stop griping about all the people who bring their dogs on public transit. I got particularly grumpy the other day when a woman had her dog sit on the seat next to her while weary commuters stood in the aisle. But the griping and grumpiness doesn’t cause the people or dogs to […]
When my father was in his last months of his life, I waited until the very last few week to ask my employer for time off to spend time with him and assist my mother with the endless decisions and tasks. Not to mention letting her have some needed rest. I waited to the very […]
EOI’s 2020 Legislative Priorities Early Learning and Care: Quality early learning and care allows children to thrive and parents to achieve economic security. Nonetheless, childcare is unaffordable and too hard to find, while teachers receive poverty-level wages. Our kids, parents, and businesses need more state investment. Invest in childcare quality and compensation with $10 million […]
For some, the holiday season is marked by generosity and quality time with loved ones. For others, it’s just one big reminder of grief and financial struggles. Unemployment rates may be low, but our economy creates clear winners and losers. Many people attempt to ease the hardship of others through charitable gifts or volunteering at […]
Today, the Washington Department of Labor and Industries has released new overtime regulations. Washington had not updated the regulations since 1976. EOI was among the stakeholders that weighed in with research and analysis, aiding the Department in drafting this update to the regulations, which will gradually increase the overtime threshold to 2.5 times 40 hours […]
A few days after the cake, candles and celebration of her 26th birthday, Larkin Sheldon of Seattle, Washington awoke uninsured. Her small Seattle-based employer didn’t offer insurance, and she could no longer stay on her parent’s plan. She checked out options on Washington’s Health Benefits Exchange, but was put off by confusing terminology, hidden fees, […]
On Thanksgiving, I will deep fry a turkey, make gluten-free rolls, and ensure a glass of my favorite wine is always in hand when greeting my immediate and distant family members. There is a lot of us in the “gang gang” — including my mother, two siblings (one is a half sibling), my husband’s mother […]
In honor of Veterans Day, let’s look at how Washington’s paid family and medical leave program will help veterans and their families in 2020, such as people like Army Sergeant Elena Garcia and her husband Sam. Elena and Sam Garcia In 2020, Elena Garcia is finally promoted to Army Sergeant. She has worked hard to […]
Today the Court of Appeals definitively opened the door to the state Supreme Court to review and rule on Seattle’s income tax on the affluent. The Court rejected our opponents’ request for reconsideration of the Court’s July decision affirming that Seattle had the right to levy a tax on income and finding the state law […]
This week, we have the chance to make a decision with our ballots about the place of Affirmative Action in Washington State. Despite its reputation as a beacon of progressive politics, Washington has been one of the very few states in the U.S. that has banned Affirmative Action since the passage of Tim Eyman’s I-200 […]
Two of our staff members, Development Director Sam Hatzenbeler and Operations Associate Melanie Mazza, are moving into new and different roles at EOI. Sam will now be a policy associate for health and Melanie will take over managing development. To those who relied on them in their previous positions, they wrote these notes: I am […]