Paid leave laws—both sick leave and family leave—continued to gain some ground in the states in 2017 while Republicans continued to block any hope of progress at the federal level, Ivanka Trump notwithstanding.
Washington state passed one of the nation’s strongest paid family leave laws. Workers earning less than half the state average have a real chance at taking time off, since the law provides for them to get 90 percent of their regular pay. Rhode Island became the eighth state to pass paid sick days. Rhode Island already has paid family leave. Maryland is in a paid sick days fight, with Republican Gov. Larry Hogan having vetoed a bill passed by the state legislature. That bill was passed with a veto-proof majority and Democratic leaders are pledging a veto override vote in the new year, but Hogan is hoping to peel off some defectors to a weaker paid sick leave proposal. Meanwhile, big business is asking congressional Republicans for protection from strong state and local leave laws, and economic inequality holds sway, with low-income workers often getting less leave than higher-income workers at the same companies.Eight states and Washington, D.C., have paid sick leave, along with dozens of cities and counties. Five states and Washington, D.C., have paid family leave. These are issues that Democrats should be looking at in every state, city, or county they control. And if Democrats have one house of the state legislature, pass it there. Make Republicans explain why they’re blocking this.
