S-429                 _______________________________________________

                                                   SENATE BILL NO. 5966

                        _______________________________________________

State of Washington                               51st Legislature                              1989 Regular Session

By Senators Rinehart, Murray, Smitherman and McMullen

Read first time 2/20/89 and referred to Committee on  Economic Development & Labor.

AN ACT Relating to standardizing leave for adoptive parents, foster parents, stepparents, legal guardians, men, and women; adding a new section to chapter 49.12 RCW; and creating a new section.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.     The legislature finds that employers often distinguish between biological parents and adoptive parents, foster parents, stepparents, and legal guardians in their employee leave policies.  Many employers who grant leave to their employees to care for a newborn child either have no policy or establish a more restrictive policy regarding whether an adoptive parent, foster parent, stepparent, or legal guardian can take similar leave.  The legislature further finds that many employers establish different leave policies for men and women regarding the care of a newborn or newly placed child.  The legislature recognizes that the bonding that occurs between a parent and child is important to the nurturing of that child, regardless of whether the parent or guardian is the child's biological parent and regardless of the gender of the parent or guardian.  For these reasons, the legislature declares that it is the public policy of this state to require that employers who grant leave to their employees to care for a newborn child make the same leave available upon the same terms for adoptive parents, foster parents, stepparents, legal guardians, men, and women.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2.  A new section is added to chapter 49.12 RCW to read as follows:

          (1) An employer must grant an adoptive parent, foster parent, stepparent, or legal guardian, following the commencement of the parent-child relationship or the placement of the child, the same leave and upon the same terms granted to biological parents.

          (2) An employer must grant the same leave upon the same terms for men as it does for women.

          (3) The department shall administer and investigate violations of this section.  Notices of infraction, penalties, and appeals shall be administered in the same manner as violations under RCW 49.12.285.

          (4) For purposes of this section, "employer" includes all private and public employers listed in RCW 49.12.005(3).

          (5) For purposes of this section, "leave" means any leave from employment granted to care for a newborn or newly placed child.

          (6) Nothing in this section requires an employer to:

          (a) Grant leave equivalent to maternity disability leave; or

          (b) Establish a leave policy to care for a newborn or newly placed child if no such leave policy is in place for any of its employees.