(The Center Square) – Two bills that would make substantial changes to Washington’s Family and Medical Leave Act saw hearings today in Olympia.
One of the measures would require smaller businesses with fewer than 50 employees to offer paid leave and the other would expand the definition of those who could take advantage of benefits for loved ones they care for.
Rep Amy Wallen, D-Kirkland, sponsored HB 1959.
“As a medium sized employer, it popped into my mind that we should take a look at this,” she told committee members.
She continued, “I think if you all put your paid family medical leave act hat on now, if you think about the medical portion and then there’s the family leave portion, businesses with fewer than 50-employees are not required to pay the employer portion of family or medical leave.”
She told lawmakers the middle-sized businesses are subsidizing the smaller companies.
Tom Kwieciak with the Building Industry Association of Washington opposed the bill.
“This is just yet another cost to be born by small businesses,” he said. “We’ve already seen a minimum wage increase and we’ve seen a 10% workers comp increase in the last two years and many small businesses are still dealing with unemployment issues related to COVID, and on and on and on.”
Kwieciak referencing negotiations years ago before the Paid Family and Medical Leave Act was enacted in Washington, saying “This blows a hole in the compromise that was worked out. When you go back on what we agreed to years ago, it makes it very difficult to pass this legislation and have honest negotiations on future issues.”
He was referring to agreements not to impose the measure on smaller businesses.
Bob Battles with the Association of Washington Business told lawmakers, “What we negotiated before was a careful, long and thoughtful process. It was months of negotiations, late hours and calls at midnight to carefully negotiate this.”
He added, “Small employers have the ability to opt in to the program and benefit from several provisions that were put in there … It was matching what FMLA says about matching and this was a key element and carefully negotiated.”
Julia Gorton with the Washington Hospitality Association echoed concerns of the bill.
“Workers get to enjoy a low threshold of eligibility and longer periods of leave, high wage replacement and an important component for the businesses was the cost,” she said. “Not only the cost of the program, but small employers are not able to simply spread out the workload among their workforce like larger employers can.”
The other bill is HB-1991 which would dramatically expand the benefit for sick or family paid leave in any case where the relationship creates an expectation that the employee cares for the person, family or not and that individual depends on the employee for care.
Rep. Mary Foss, D-Everett, is the prime sponsor. She today told members of the House Labor and Workforce Standards Committee that this bill would “Really help our working families.”
“One of the changes is modifying the statutes definition of family,” she said. “I don’t want any of our Washington families to deal with the struggle I dealt with. When I got sick in grade school, due to a loss of income, my family became homeless.
“Our families shouldn’t be excluded from these benefits just because they don’t live in a traditional nuclear family.”
Daniel Goodman with the Washington State Association for Justice urged support for the bill, sharing his story of being forced out of his family after revealing he was gay. “I’ve been in Seattle and found many others with similar stories and we care for each other in what we call ‘chosen families.'”
He referenced a man by the name of Tye, whom he said was an older blind member of his “chosen family.”
“It’s incumbent on us to take care of Tye, but given the current law we would not be able to use our sick leave,” he said.
No action was taken on either measure following today’s hearings.
