It's alarming to me how many workers still don't seem to know that, if you work in Washington, you have paid sick leave through the state.

You accrue 1 hr/every 40 you work — which doesn't seem like a lot, until you consider that your boss must roll 40 hours over from last year.

This is frustrating because a.) I worked on this campaign and it passed at the ballot pretty easily and b.) Everyone who has never had to use this but believes it doesn't exist makes it sound like it doesn't exist. BUT IT DOES.

I see a lot of folks online making it sound like there are no protections for workers right now. And while it's true that there aren't ENOUGH, for people who get all of their info from Facebook, the message is "you get nothing."

But you do! We made sure you get something!

Say you work full-time for a year (which I know isn't often the case, but for the sake of the math).

You start to accrue on your FIRST DAY. You have accrue 52 hours in a year, 40 of which must be rolled over.

You start the year with 40 and you continue to earn.

So if you worked all of last year in Washington State and the beginning of 2020, you in theory could have ~52 hours of paid leave by the time the virus began to spread.

And btw that paid leave is YOUR ACTUAL WAGE. It's not some reduced rate. It's literally how much you earn.

WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?

Because I continue to see people demanding rights and benefits for workers without noting the existing ones.

This is not to say we have enough of a social safety net. WE DO NOT. But the problem with this is what it telegraphs to workers.

Every time someone goes on Insta and says that people who are being told to stay home "don't have any way to pay the bills," that is not true & it plants that seed for people who see the message.

Instead of, you know, telling people what they're entitled to NOW.

This is not something you need your employer's permission to use. It's not something that they can opt out of.

It's literally the law of the state. You MUST accrue paid sick leave — even if you're part-time — and you MUST be able to use it when you need it.

BTW, your employer is also required to provide you a statement (paper or electronic) that explains your benefits. IF YOU HAVE NEVER GOTTEN ONE, ASK.

Here are some things that are ILLEGAL FOR YOUR EMPLOYER TO DO:

—Prohibit you from using your accrued paid sick leave
—Retaliate or take any negative action against you for exercising any right under the Minimum Wage Act
— Pay you less than your hourly wage

SO ALSO (this is a message for Online Activists) instead of supposing about how wage workers are afraid to use their paid sick leave, maybe instead ENCOURAGE wage workers to know their fucking rights.

I have ZERO respect for white-collar workers who are like ~bUt WhAt AbOuT tHe PoOr~ when they, themselves, have never been poor and also don't know what things the poor could actually access if SOMEONE TOLD THEM.

Instead of asking hollow questions about why no one is helping the poor maybe ask why you don't know how to actually help the poor.

So here is my advice:

Go to the Washington State L&I website and read up on what I-1433 meant. This law went into effect two years ago and was packaged with the minimum wage increase so you may have missed the specs. That's fine! But learn about it now.

Here's a Q&A about paid sick leave in Washington with regard to COVID-19: https://lni.wa.gov/agency/outreach/paid-sick-leave-and-coronavirus-covid-19-common-questions

And here's the overview of paid sick leave in Washington: https://lni.wa.gov/workers-rights/leave/paid-sick-leave/#employee-resources

Again, this is not to say that wage workers have near enough coverage. They do not. We need portable benefits, unions, and more security in general.

However! It is incorrect that Washington's hourly workers have no paid sick leave. You do. You voted for it. Use it.