EOI Updates Where is my paid leave? February 25, 2020 / October 26, 2026 by Laura Brown 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 […] Read more »
EOI Updates As more people need degrees, rural Washingtonians are left behind February 14, 2020 / October 26, 2026 by Sara Bekele 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 […] Read more »
EOI Updates Let’s celebrate 27 years of unpaid leave February 5, 2020 / October 26, 2026 by Gabriela Quintana 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 […] Read more »
EOI Updates Washington paid family and medical leave rollout update February 4, 2020 / October 26, 2026 by Marilyn Watkins 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 […] Read more »
EOI Updates The false promise of tech companies funding higher education January 24, 2020 / October 26, 2026 by John Burbank 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 […] Read more »
EOI Updates New “pay it forward” plan will allow students to attend community college tuition-free January 21, 2020 / October 9, 2026 by Economic Opportunity Institute Read more »
EOI Updates WA bill would extend health coverage to one year after birth January 20, 2020 / October 9, 2026 by Economic Opportunity Institute Read more »
EOI Updates Thank you for paid family & medical leave January 20, 2020 / October 9, 2026 by Economic Opportunity Institute Read more »
EOI Updates We need to extend postpartum healthcare access January 16, 2020 / October 26, 2026 by Sam Hatzenbeler 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 […] Read more »
EOI Updates Kshama Sawant’s inauguration a battle cry to ‘tax Amazon’ January 14, 2020 / October 9, 2026 by Economic Opportunity Institute Read more »
