News & Stories

From BNet: What makes a city a great place to build a business? If your city required every employer to offer paid sick leave and family leave, what would that do to your business? If you think your company would suffer, you’re not alone. The conventional wisdom in the US is that low costs and […]

From the Seattle Times: By Robin Fleming, and Vic-ee Olson As a school nurse and a grocery store deli clerk, we know why paid sick days are needed. Kids come to school sick — or stay at school sick — because their mom or dad has to go to work. And with or without kids, […]

From the Everett Herald: You’d be hard-pressed to find a better example of “kick-em when they’re down” politics this year than the workers’ compensation legislation rushed through Olympia on Monday (May 23). By the governor’s own estimate, the bill will take about $1 billion that injured workers would have received over the next five years, […]

From the LA Times: Since 2003, the California Chamber of Commerce has published an annual hit list of bills it labels job killers. The list has included state legislation to protect consumers, workers and the environment, and to raise revenue to fund public services or support middle- and working-class families. No politician — Democrat or […]

From the report Evaluating Paid Sick Leave Part 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |10 In February 2007, San Francisco implemented the nation’s first paid sick days law. It establishes a minimum standard of paid sick leave for all workers within the city. Workers […]

Via the National Women’s Law Center: Social Security is a family insurance plan that provides retirement benefits and life and disability insurance to Washington’s working families. About 1 in 6 residents – about 1,046,200 people – receives disability, survivor, and/or retirement benefits from Social Security. 93 percent of residents 65 and older receive Social Security […]

From the report Evaluating Paid Sick Leave Part 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |10 In February 2007, San Francisco implemented the nation’s first paid sick days law. It establishes a minimum standard of paid sick leave for all workers within the city. Workers […]

From the report Evaluating Paid Sick Leave Part 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |10 Controlling unscheduled absences remains a concern for employers, whether or not they provide paid sick leave. A survey of employers by CCH Incorporated in 2007 found that 34% of […]

Via The Stand: When we go out for a meal or shop for groceries, none of us wants to come home with stomach flu. Yet most of the employees working in Seattle restaurants, and many in grocery stores, daycares, hotels, and even medical centers don’t get any paid sick leave. Many workers without paid leave […]

From the report Evaluating Paid Sick Leave Part 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |10 Many employers have long recognized that providing good benefits is essential to attracting and retaining good employees. Multiple studies have found that providing paid sick leave results in higher […]

Imagine waking up on a Tuesday with the flu, but having to go to work so you don’t risk losing your job. Or, picture sending your sick child to school because you’ll lose a day’s pay if you stay home with them. Over 190,000 people working in Seattle don’t have a single paid sick day. […]

From the report Evaluating Paid Sick Leave Part 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |10 A few days off work can be critical to the health and safety of victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking – and their co-workers. In 2008, the […]

Guest post by Matt Loschen, EOI Board member I’ve worked hard and been incredibly lucky, and ended up somewhat wealthy. Not “Warhols on my wall” wealthy, but certainly well off enough to be very comfortable and free. To put it another way, I’m one of those people who panicky pundits fear will leave the state […]

On the 57th anniversary of Brown vs. Board of Education, the historic Supreme Court ruling that integrated public schools and paved the way for the civil rights movement, we should take a moment to realize how far the United States has come – and how far we have yet to go. The Brown v. Board […]

A recent study titled “The Impact of Taxes on Migration in New England” says that employment, family and education are the three primary reasons people (wealthy or not) move from one state to another. Taxes have little – if anything at all – to do with it: “Taxes [have] essentially no impact on causing people […]

From the report Evaluating Paid Sick Leave Part 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |10 A comprehensive study based on 2008 data found that 17% of the American workforce at that time was providing uncompensated care for an elderly person, and 42% had during […]

From the report Evaluating Paid Sick Leave Part 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |10 A parent’s lack of paid sick leave can have a negative impact on the child’s health and school performance. For 74.4% of school-age children and 64.2% of preschoolers in […]

In an NPR interview, Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz explains why public investments in infrastructure, technology and education aren’t only good for job creation – they guarantee the “future potential output” of the economy. These types of investments pay huge dividends and have a high rate of return. By spending more on schools, roads and […]

From the report Evaluating Paid Sick Leave Part 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |10 Nationally, over 80% of people who earn above the median hourly wage get paid sick leave, while only 19% do among the bottom 10% of earners. In addition to […]

Via Seattle Coalition for a Healthy Workforce:

Full story: Push on for paid sick leave for all workers in Seattle »

From the report Evaluating Paid Sick Leave Part 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |10 Foodborne illness has a major impact on health and the economy in the United States. According to the most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention […]

From the Everett Herald: The era of 9/11 may have been brought to a close last week with the killing of Osama bin Laden. President Obama spoke of bringing to justice bin Laden, the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks. He praised the sacrifice of the firefighters and police who lost their lives on that fateful […]

From Public Pensions in Washington State: As of 2008, 31% of all private sector workers participated in a defined contribution (401k-style) retirement plan at their workplace, 3% in pension plans and 12% were enrolled in both. 54% of all private sector workers were not covered under a workplace retirement plan. Pensions guarantee workers a retirement […]

From the report Evaluating Paid Sick Leave Part 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |10 “Stay home when you’re sick” was the key public health message during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic, raising public awareness of the responsibility we all share in preventing the spread […]