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Earlier this month, lawmakers in Washington state held a hearing to consider proposed paid sick days and family and medical leave insurance bills. The Washington Work and Family Coalition turned out in force to show support for these family friendly proposals — and for good reason: One million workers in Washington have no paid sick days.

Don Orange, a small business owner who testified at the hearing, wrote a compelling piece for The Columbian in which he says: “Family and medical leave will be good for my business, but that’s not the main reason I support it. I’m for it because it will strengthen families in my community, and there’s nothing more important than that.” Check out a great round up of the hearing from Public News Service.

The coalition’s hard work paid off — on February 13^th, the state’s House Labor and Workforce Development Committee approved both bills. This is an exciting step forward. Be sure to follow the Washington Work and Family Coalition on Facebook and Twitter for more updates.

A paid sick days bill was also introduced in Vermont this month. Voices for Vermont Kids is leading the coalition behind the proposal, which would allow workers to earn seven paid sick days a year.

And in case you missed it, Philadelphia City Council members introduced an earned sick days ordinance on January 24^th. Check out Philadelphia Earned Sick Days and its new Tumblr page for more, including a recently released study showing that Philadelphia businesses would benefit from the proposed sick days ordinance.

Stay tuned for more on this exciting activity!