Media Center | Press Releases

Joint Legislative Task Force Issues Family Leave Recommendations

12.17.2007 | Washington Family Leave Coalition | One-time start-up costs and initial benefits for family leave insurance will be paid from the state’s general fund, and the Employment Security Department will administer the program, if legislators adopt the final recommendations of Washington’s Joint Legislative Task Force on Family Insurance in 2008. | Read

Media Advisory: Washington Family Leave Coalition Press Conference

12.11.2007 | Sponsored by the Washington Family Leave Coalition, with statements from members of the Washington Joint Legislative Task Force on Family Leave. The Washington Family Leave Coalition will present a large (2 foot by 3 foot) letter addressed to state legislators, signed by dozens of Washington business owners in support of family leave insurance. | Read

Gift of trees supports family leave: Moms thank task force for work on family leave insurance

09.26.2007 | Washington Family Leave Coalition | Mothers testifying at the Washington State Family Leave Insurance Joint Legislative Task Force presented trees adorned with messages thanking task force members for “helping Washington’s families grow stronger.” | Read

New Poll Shows Strong Support for Family Leave Insurance: State Task Force Encouraged By Results

09.26.2007 | Washington Family Leave Coalition | Members of task force charged with helping implement Washington’s family leave law were buoyed by results from a nationwide poll of frequent voters that show strong support for a family leave insurance fund to provide income for parents on leave while caring for a newborn or newly-adopted child. | Read

New report calls for family leave insurance

09.26.2007 | 9to5.org | "Family Values at Work" documents the consequences on workers, families, businesses and the nation when family values end at the workplace door. | Read

Verdict Is In On California's Paid Family Leave Law

07.08.2005 | EOI | In its first year, California's paid family leave is doing exactly what it was intended to do: providing critical time off for mothers and fathers to care for a new child or for caregivers to care for an ill family member. Legislation is planned for Washington state. | Read

Press Conference: Health Benefits at Wal-Mart

06.01.2005 | EOI | More than 3,200 Wal-Mart workers are on active duty. To help them, Wal-Mart claims that they continue their benefits and make up the difference between their military pay and the regular Wal-Mart wages. That’s not a very difficult thing to do when only 48% of Wal-Mart employees are covered by Wal-Mart’s health insurance and the employees end up paying 40% of the cost. | Read

Report Highlights Options to Restore Washington's Estate Tax

03.28.2005 | EOI | The Economic Opportunity Institute (EOI) today released “Washington’s Estate Tax: Protecting Our State’s Resources” which evaluates several options for restoring the estate tax. Because the federal estate tax has been eliminated, the state courts have ruled that Washington’s estate tax is invalid. The loss to the state is approximately $280 million in the next biennium. | Read

House and Senate to Hear Testimony On Paid Family Leave Bills

01.28.2005 | EOI | SB 5069 and HB 1173 propose a premium of one-cent per hour worked, paid by both the employer and employee (2 cents total), to fund Paid Leave benefits when a worker needs to take time off to care for an ill family member, a newborn or newly adopted child, or his/her own illness. Benefits include job protection and Paid Leave of up to $250 per week for five weeks. | Read

House and Senate Bills Provide for Easy Way to Save for Retirement

01.27.2005 | EOI | Washington Voluntary Accounts give workers the chance to participate in a defined-contribution retirement savings plan at their workplace. | Read

House and Senate Bills Designed to Balance Work and Family Responsibilities

01.24.2005 | EOI | Senator Karen Keiser and Representative Mary Lou Dickerson have submitted companion bills, Senate Bill 5069 and House Bill 1173, to provide paid leave benefits to workers who must take time off to care for their families. | Read

State of the State: Are we better off now that we were four years ago?

09.13.2004 | EOI | EOI's newest report on job growth & economic security since 2000 has found some improvement but little to cheer about as workers continue to struggle. | Read

California Launches Paid Family Leave Program - Washington Legislators Plan Similar Program, Polls Support Policy Change

07.01.2004 | EOI | On July 1, California’s new Paid Family Leave Law goes into effect, providing most Californians six weeks of partial pay when taking leave from work to care for a seriously ill parent, spouse, child, or domestic partner, or to bond with a new baby, foster, or adopted child. State Senator Karen Keiser and State Representative Mary Lou Dickerson plan to propose a similar program for Washington. | Read

Still Working Well - Report Challenges Critics' Claims On State Minimum Wage

01.27.2004 | EOI | Job growth trends do not support claims that Washington State's relatively high minimum wage is a cause of the state's high unemployment rate, according to a report released this month by the Economic Opportunity Institute (EOI), a non-profit public policy institute. | Read

Washington residents favor expanding family leave benefits

11.01.2000 | EOI | Results from a statewide poll commissioned by the Economic Opportunity Institute indicate that a vast majority of Washington residents favor expanding family leave benefits and are willing to pay for it. | Read