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Dear Friends and Neighbors,
We have a problem in Oregon: nearly half of workers
in our state cannot take a day off to recover when they or a family member gets
sick. For the vast majority of low-wage workers (nearly 80 percent), that means
taking care of a sick child or following a doctor’s order can cost them a
paycheck or even their job.
I believe we have to
tackle this sick day dilemma and make a real difference for working families.
The legislature is working hard to pass a statewide policy to make sure workers
throughout our state can earn paid time off for sickness or to care for a
family member (Senate Bill 454).
For me, the bottom line is simple: modern
workplace protections like paid sick days are good for all Oregonians.
A few months ago, an inspiring 11-year-old from
Eugene named Salvador Trejo traveled to our state Capitol to share his story
about how paid sick days – and the lack thereof – have impacted his family. He urged
lawmakers to support a statewide sick leave policy and moved many people at
the crowded public hearing to both applause and tears by the end of his
testimony.
"I'm
only a little kid, I know,” he said, “but I know human rights are important to
everyone."
Please
take a minute to watch Salvador’s compelling testimony:
Clearly, earned sick days are good for families and
good for public health. Research shows that offering paid sick time is also good for business.
Providing paid
sick time results in higher productivity, less absenteeism, reduced turnover, and other benefits for businesses and local economies. (Learn more about the social, economic, and health implications of paid sick time policies by following the link here.)
Policies that better support working families can meet the needs of both employers and employees alike. It’s time to pass legislation to ensure Oregonians throughout our state can earn a reasonable number of paid sick days each year.
This session, we are working to increase police accountability and put an end
to profiling in Oregon by defining the problem in
statute, collecting better data, and providing a path to enforce the
prohibition on profiling (House Bill 2002). We want to provide one place, for the entire state, for people to call when they believe they've been profiled. We want to better understand what's happening and work toward a way to stop it.
Read more in the Portland Tribune about the progress we’re making to end
profiling: “'Profiling' bill moves toward House vote.”
The Oregon
House made another important stride to improve opportunity by voting to ban “the
box” – the section of employment applications where applicants must disclose an
arrest or conviction (House Bill 3025). Employers would still be able to discuss a criminal background in an interview, but applicants would not be routinely screened out by checking "the box."
By removing this
barrier to employment, we can give a second chance to thousands of Oregonians with
prior convictions who simply want to earn a paycheck to support themselves and
their families. I look forward to this bill passing in the Senate and heading to Governor Brown.
This week, the Oregon House voted to make our communities safer. Senate Bill 941 will help keep convicted felons, domestic abusers and people in severe mental crisis from buying guns online or through other direct private sales because criminal background checks will now be required for those transactions.
I was proud to support this common sense legislation that will help save lives while maintaining Oregonians' Second Amendment rights. The bill now heads to Governor Brown for her signature.
As always, it is a pleasure to represent you.
Best,
Tina Kotek
State Representative
House District 44
Speaker of the House
email: Rep. Rep.TinaKotek@state.or.us I phone: 503-986-1200
address: 900 Court St NE, H-269, Salem, OR 97301
website: http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/kotek
P.S. Don’t forget, the St. Johns Parade is tomorrow, May 9 – starting at noon. Hope to see you there!
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