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Vicki Shabo

It’s Official – Seattle Will Guarantee Paid Sick Days!

| Sep 23, 2011

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With the stroke of a pen today, Mayor Mike McGinn secured a groundbreaking victory for the people of Seattle. The city will now become the third in the U.S. to give workers the right to earn the paid sick days they need — and deserve.

Congratulations to the Seattle Coalition for a Healthy Workforce for such an effective campaign. Its emphasis on an unprecedented collaboration between workers, businesses, legislators and advocates provides cities and states across the country with a powerful model. And now, nearly 190,000 workers can rest easier knowing they will soon no longer have to choose between their health and their economic security.

There is no doubt that momentum for paid sick days is building. The historic victory in Connecticut in June and the law signed in Seattle today will increase the number of workers with paid sick days by hundreds of thousands. Three cities and one state will now guarantee this basic right.

Next up is the election in Denver in November, where a paid sick days standard will be on the ballot. It is an exciting time. Stay tuned as the momentum and victories continue!

About the Author

Vicki Shabo

Vicki Shabo

Vicki Shabo is vice president at the National Partnership for Women & Families and is one of the nation's leading experts on paid family and medical leave, paid sick days and the workplace policy advocacy landscape. She previously served for more than four years as the organization's director of work and family programs. Shabo is responsible for the strategic direction of the National Partnership’s work to promote fair and family friendly workplaces and leads the organization’s work on paid family and medical leave, paid sick days, expansion and enforcement of the Family and Medical Leave Act, workplace flexibility, fair pay and pregnancy discrimination. She serves as a contact on workplace policy issues for key national allies, researchers, businesses and state and local advocates and has been quoted in the New York Times, Washington Post, Associated Press, USA Today, CNN and MSNBC, among other outlets.

Shabo brings a unique background in law and politics to her work: Prior to joining the National Partnership in 2010, she practiced law in the litigation department at WilmerHale, a large international law firm. Before embarking on a legal career, she worked with both Celinda Lake and Harrison Hickman, serving as a pollster and political strategist to political candidates, ballot campaigns, advocacy organizations and media outlets. Through this work, she developed research and communications expertise on issues of particular concern to women. Shabo's earlier professional experience includes a stint with the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee.

Shabo graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in politics and American studies from Pomona College, and holds a Master of Arts in political science from the University of Michigan. She earned her law degree with high honors from the University of North Carolina, where she served as editor in chief of the North Carolina Law Review. After law school, she clerked for the Honorable Michael R. Murphy on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit in Salt Lake City.

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