A scrappy band of workers, business owners, health care professionals, community groups, union members and legislators come together to pass a law so that all workers can earn time to care for themselves and their family members. This movie has everything:
- Touching stories from workers who lost their jobs for being good family members, or had to leave a child in the hospital in order to stay afloat.
- A battle between supportive business owners and those who see workers as expendable.
- Politicians remembering why they got into this business in the first place.
And, at the end, a bill signing, with everyone crowded around a desk. Cue the big smiles, uplifting music, and the end credits.
Except… that’s not really the end. Whether everyone in the movie realizes it or not, it’s just the beginning.
Imagine our movie was set in California, where the country’s first paid family leave law was passed. That signing ceremony took place in September 2002 – over a year before the law actually took effect on July 1, 2004.
Even if we added the July 1st date to our production, our movie would miss years of organizing, education, and implementation around the law – work that continues to this day..
This July 1st, we’ll celebrate the 14th anniversary of California’s paid family leave law. Many workers have earned time to care for themselves and their seriously ill family members – with pay – because of the work done in California. Since the California law passed, NJ, RI, and NY have implemented paid family leave, three other states have passed it, and several more are getting close.
People also need paid time to deal with routine illness – ear infections and colds and stomach flus. Twelve years ago, San Francisco was the first city to win paid sick days. Today, 44 cities and states have passed laws guaranteeing workers the right to earn paid sick days. In fact, California isn’t the only state with a July 1 commencement date! 14 different cities and states have implementation anniversaries that same day – including 1 brand new law going into effect this year!
Here’s some highlights of laws, new and old, that we’re celebrating:
- Rhode Island: Rhode Island has long offered Temporary Disability Insurance and Temporary Caregivers Insurance to workers, but starting July 1, workers will also be able to earn paid sick days!
- New Jersey: July 1st marks the anniversary of New Jersey’s Family Leave Insurance program. This program pools small contributions to allow workers to receive wages when they take time to care for a new child or a family member with a serious illness. At least 13 cities in New Jersey have paid sick days laws to protect their workers, and this November, all of NJ will have paid sick days!
- D.C.: In 2013, Washington D.C.’s paid sick days law expanded to cover all workers, including restaurant workers. A coalition in D.C. has now finished passage of a paid family leave bill.
- Georgia: On July 1st, 2017, Georgia became the first state in the South with any law in effect for paid time to care. Employees of businesses with 25 or more workers are able to use their paid sick days to care for members of their immediate family. This change benefits nearly 1 million people in the state.
- Midwest wins: The Midwest has two July 1 anniversaries. Chicago and Cook County, IL, are celebrating one year of paid sick days. Minneapolis and St. Paul are also commemorating paid sick days wins.
If you didn’t see your city or state here, don’t worry. You can check out our map or our chart to see if there’s a law in your area. And, whether you saw your city or not, you can join us as we work to make paid sick days and paid family and medical leave a reality nationwide. Then get a refill on your popcorn – our movie is just getting started.
by Marianne Bellesorte, National Implementation Director for Family Values @ Work.
