Six years ago, Washington state lawmakers approved a program giving parents five weeks paid time off to be with a new child. But the question of how to pay for the program was never answered, and now some lawmakers are looking to remove it from the books completely. But Sen. Karen Keiser, a Democrat from Kent who sponsored the initial bill, has introduced her own bill to expand the underlying measure. On Friday's Legislative Hotline on KPQ 12th District State Representative Cary Condotta says Keiser's proposal is politically motivated.
Marilyn Watkins with the Economic Opportunity Institute says it offers a little bit of financial security to families facing challenges...
Watkins says the payroll deduction amounts to one dollar a week for a worker making 50-thousand dollars a year, or two dollars a week if disability coverage is added
The paid family leave law passed in 2007 and was supposed to start paying benefits of up to $250 a week starting in October 2009. But it's already been delayed twice.
Keiser's new bill adds caring for a family member or a worker's own disability and would pay 2/3 of a worker's pay a week, up to $1,000 a week.
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