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Trisha McClanahan, with her husband, son and two-day-old daughter, will benefit from paid family leave.
Paid family leave, explained Here’s what you need to know about Washington’s new paid family and medical leave policy by K A T I E A N T H O N Y / photo by J O S H U A H U S T O N
It’s happening! It’s finally happening! Blessed mercy! Glorious relief! No, I’m not about to take an uninterrupted shower. That sweet day remains just out of reach.
I’m talking about paid family and medical leave, which takes effect in Washington in 2020. Do you need to pause and read that last sentence again? Go ahead. It is happening. Can I get a “Heck yeah?” (This is a family magazine, or I’d be using a different four-letter word). Trisha McClanahan knows what a game-changer paid leave can be. McClanahan, who lives in Seward Park with her husband, 2-year-old son and new-
born daughter, was able to take 16 weeks of paid leave through her employer. “It’s huge,” she says. “Those first four months, he needed me so much. And the sleep! It meant a lot to have that time, to get paid, and to know my career was waiting for me.” Now that precious time and support will be available to most of Washington’s workers. If you’ve worked at least 820 hours in the state of Washington in 2019 (about 16 hours a CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE >
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