WASHINGTON STATE

Washington State House Democrats

HOUSE DEMOCRATS

AP: Bill would guarantee vacations with pay

By Lisa Baumann, Associated Press

Rep. Gael Tarleton testifying in support of her paid vacation bill before the House Labor Workforce and Development Committee.
Rep. Gael Tarleton testifying in support of her paid vacation bill before the House Labor Workforce and Development Committee.

OLYMPIA — Workers in Washington could be the first in the nation to be guaranteed paid vacation time under legislation being considered by state lawmakers.

Democratic Rep. Gael Tarleton of Seattle, the prime sponsor of House Bill 2238, said the measure would require public and private employers with 25 or more employees to provide vacation leave for those who work 20 hours or more per week. It’s the first bill of its kind to be introduced in the Washington legislature, according to Tarleton.

“Now we are in a place where workers are machines,” she said. “We’re working all the time. Everyone needs a vacation no matter what salary they earn, what title they hold, or how much seniority they have.”

But some Washington business owners are balking at the idea of a paid vacation mandate.Jan Gee, president of the Washington Food Industry Association, said the group opposes the idea because the number of issues potentially affecting grocery store owners, from raising minimum wage to paid sick leave to vacation leave, is leaving their “heads spinning.”

“Somebody needs to put on the brakes,” she said.Currently, no states require employers to provide paid vacation leave to their workers, according to Jeanne Mejeur of the National Conference of State Legislatures, a bipartisan research and information center.

The advocate whose work inspired this legislation has been tracking the issue from the sidelines and told The Associated Press this week that no similar bills have been introduced elsewhere in the country this year.

Click here for the full AP story.