I’m particularly lucky to have health insurance, paid leave, and supportive family and friends who also have paid leave. Not everyone is so fortunate. More than four in 10 workers don’t get a single day of paid sick leave. A recent survey of Washington businesses showed that only 44 percent of firms provide paid sick leave to full-time workers, and only 14 percent offer the benefit to part-timers. Vacation is available to most full-time and about one third of part-time employees, but usually only two weeks a year. Unfortunately, it’s the lowest income workers with the fewest resources to fall back on who are least likely to have paid leave.

What do people do when they or a loved one gets seriously ill and they don’t have paid leave? They cut back on spending, turn to savings if they have it, put off paying bills, and borrow money. Many go back to work sooner than they should, jeopardizing their own or a loved one’s health. About one in 10 end up on public assistance.

House Bill 1658, introduced in the Washington legislature by Representative Mary Lou Dickerson (D – NW Seattle) would go a long way toward insuring that everyone in Washington has some paid leave from work for critical situations. The bill would establish a family and medical leave insurance program that would provide benefits of $250 per week for up to five weeks when someone has to take time off for their own serious health condition, to care for a seriously ill child, spouse, domestic partner, or parent, or to care for a new child. Employees would pay a small premium of two cents per hour — about $3.50 per month — to cover the costs.

H.B. 1658 complements the existing Family and Medical Leave Act. The FMLA provides for unpaid leave of up to 12 weeks for employees of companies with 50 or more workers. Under H.B. 1658, workers already covered by the FMLA would be assured of some income during five of those weeks. Workers in smaller companies, too, would now have the right to five weeks’ leave with some pay.

We know these kinds of programs work. California, New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Hawaii already have disability insurance programs covering their entire workforce. Under these programs, workers receive partial pay when on leave for their own medical condition, including women following childbirth. In 2004, California added time to care for ill family members and for all parents to care for a new baby or an adopted or foster child. New York and New Jersey have bills pending to add similar components to their disability programs. Massachusetts and Illinois, like Washington, are considering creating new family and medical leave insurance programs.

Many small business owners see family and medical leave insurance as a win-win for their companies and their employees. When a medical crisis arises or an employee has a baby, most small businesses allow the worker time off, but they often cannot afford to provide pay. With family and medical leave insurance, employees will receive some compensation while off work. Then they can come back ready to be productive, without the added stress of family financial crisis.

Employers know the high cost of turnover. Recruiting and training new workers is expensive. Knowledgeable, motivated employees are critical to success. Family and medical leave insurance will help companies retain workers and boost profits.

H.B. 1658 is good for all of us. It will give parents stress-free time with their new child, helping all our state’s kids receive the best possible start in life, laying the foundation for their healthy development and success in school. Everyone, from children to seniors, recovers faster from illness when a loved one is present. Hospital stays are shorter and other medical costs less when family members can take on part of the care.

There’s plenty of bad luck we can’t do much about. But whether you have paid leave from work when a health crisis strikes doesn’t have to depend on luck. Real Change readers can help pass H.B. 1658 by letting their legislators (1-800-562-6000) and Speaker Frank Chopp (chopp.frank@leg.wa.gov) know that they support family and medical leave insurance.

[Take Action]

Call your state legislators at 1(800)562-6000 and ask them and House Speaker Frank Chopp to support House Bill 1658.

Marilyn Watkins is a member of the Real Change Advisory Board and policy director of the Economic Opportunity Institute, a research and advocacy organization focused on building economic opportunity for all Washington residents.