Washington Lawmakers: Make paid leave a right, not a privilege!

Paid family and medical leave has been a lifeline for 100,000 Washington families in the past year, but for too many this essential benefit has been inaccessible because of COVID-19 layoffs and hours reduction as well as the limited definition of family member.

But we can fix that! HB 1073 and SB 5097 will strengthen Washington's paid leave program to be accessible to more workers. This bill is especially critical as working families navigate the health and economic uncertainties of the COVID-19 pandemic.

These bills are still moving in the 2021 session! Urge your state lawmakers to make sure they get to Governor Inslee's desk!

Dear Lawmaker,

As your constituent and a member of MomsRising, I am writing to my lawmakers in the House and Senate to share my support for two important bills that would improve access to paid family and medical leave: HB 1073 (in Senate Ways & Means) and SB 5097 (in House Appropriations).

Both of these bills are critical to ensuring workers can equitably access the paid leave benefits their wages have paid for since 2019.

HB 1073: This bill will ensure that workers who lost employment or hours due to COVID-19 are able to use their hours from 2019 and early 2020 to meet the hours worked requirement for paid family and medical leave.

SB 5097: This bill will expand the definition of family member for family leave to include chosen family. This inclusive language of family is particularly important for BIPOC and LGBTQ+ communities who are more likely to have and care for chosen family.

As we mark a year since the pandemic lockdown began, the effects of COVID-19 are still reverberating for all of us. The pandemic has made more visible how racism and income inequality are affecting mothers, families, and communities. These two bills will help ensure that workers impacted by COVID-19, who have disproportionately been BIPOC and low-income workers, are able to access their benefits while also making a much-needed permanent change to the program to include chosen family. I urge your support.

Sincerely,

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