Paid Family Leave -- SEATTLE
Council Member Lorena Gonzalez and her team plan to hold information and discussion sessions for
businesses on paid family leave at least through February. The next meeting will take place in north
Seattle from 6-7 p.m. on Jan. 24. Mark your calendar and register to attend.
The goals for these meetings are: (1) Hear from businesses currently with paid family leave policies
about the successes and challenges they experienced during implementation and in practice; (2) Learn
about the different policies businesses have implemented and how/why they chose their policies; (3) If a
business doesn’t have a policy, learn more about the reasons why and the challenges that face the
business in implementing a policy.
The city has hired Patinkin Research Strategies to poll employers and employees on their PFL views and
study current and potential PFL policies for the private sector. The City Budget Office is also looking at
PFL financials and testing different funding mechanisms.
There is no citywide policy in operation at this time. Gonzalez and her team would be open to a
statewide solution, but have concerns about feasibility.
Paid Family Leave – STATEWIDE
Three bills have been introduced that would create a new statewide paid leave policy. House Bill
1116 and Senate Bill 5032, would give employees 26 weeks paid time off. Leave is financed through a
payroll tax on both employers and employees.
A third bill, Senate Bill 5149, would provide 12 weeks paid time off. Compensation is phased-in up to 67
percent of the employees’ salary, aligning with unemployment insurance coverage. Leave is financed
through an employee payroll tax. Hearings have not been scheduled for this bill, but are expected.
New Restaurant Grading System
The Seattle and King County Public Health Department rolled out the new restaurant grading system on
Jan. 17. The new system brings new food safety rating categories. Restaurants will now receive one of
four food safety ratings to provide the public with more information about the level of a restaurant’s
food safety practices.
The four food safety ratings are:
 Needs to Improve: The restaurant was either closed by Public Health – Seattle & King County
within the last year or the restaurant needed multiple return inspections to fix food safety
practices.
 OK: The restaurant has had MANY red critical violations over the last four inspections.
 Good: The restaurant has had SOME red critical violations over the last four inspections.
 Excellent: The restaurant has had None or Few red critical violations over the last four
inspections.
According to the health department, a restaurant’s food safety rating will now be displayed on a sign on
a restaurant’s window. The ratings and full inspection history will be available starting on Jan. 17, 2017,
and also provided as open data. Learn more here.
Staffing
Anna Boone and John Lane met with finalists for the assistant coordinator position. We hope to have an
announcement on a successful candidate by next week’s update.
Secure Scheduling Rulemaking Meeting
On Thursday, the stakeholder meeting addressed (1) Penalty Pay, (2) Penalty Pay Exceptions. (3) Pattern
or Practice of Underscheduling, (4) Access to Hours, (5) Access to Hours Exceptions and (6) Hiring
Programs. Considerable dialogue regarding how penalty pay exceptions would work occurred (format,
notice, situations where applicable, etc.). The theme of “protecting employees from the power
imbalance” was repeated by OLS staff throughout the meeting. The next meeting is scheduled for Feb.
2, at which time the records requirements will be discussed. They hope to have a draft of the rules for
the Feb. 16 meeting.
Homeless Encampments
On Tuesday, Mayor Murray sent an emergency order to the Seattle City Council authorizing three new
encampments, which the council approved. The new encampments were first announced in December,
and will be located at 1000 South Myrtle St., 9701 Myers Way South and 8620 Nesbit Ave. North.
Community meetings are planned for two of the locations (Georgetown on Jan. 23 and Myers Way on
Feb. 1), with a third tentatively planned for the Nesbit location.
On Thursday, a federal lawsuit was filed by the ACLU saying the city and WSDOT have violated the rights
of people by illegally seizing and destroying property as part of the sweeps of homeless camps. Read
more about the lawsuit here.
U District Upzones
Anna attended Thursday’s Planning, Land Use and Zoning Committee meeting where the University
District proposed upzones were discussed. This is the first in a series of proposed neighborhood upzones
to implement the HALA recommendations. A number of small business representatives testified to share
concerns about the potential impact on commercial affordability and asked the committee to conduct
an economic impact study.
There have been seven public meetings on this issue and the committee is considering several
amendments to address feedback it has received, including amendments to support commercial
affordability. These amendments focus on:
 Preserving the character of the buildings along The Ave. through reduced height limits, and
using tools to make preservation of historic buildings economically viable.
 Provide incentives for developers to create smaller retail spaces (≤2,000 square feet) to
accommodate smaller business in new development.
 The committee is also considering a draft resolution that will indicate the city’s intent to work
with the University District community to support small locally owned businesses.
We have invited Council Member Rob Johnson to attend a Seattle Restaurant Alliance membership
meeting to update us on this process.
Democracy Vouchers
Anna and John attended last week’s Business Issues Form hosted by the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber
of Commerce. Wayne Barnett, executive director of the Seattle Ethics & Elections Commission, spoke to
the group about Honest Elections and his office’s role to implement the measure. In early January, four
$25 democracy vouchers were mailed to every registered voter in Seattle. Candidates must apply to and
qualify for the program to receive vouchers. In 2017, candidates for city attorney and the two at-large
city council positions are eligible to participate in the program, which is funded through a property tax
increase. The elections commission has asked the state Public Disclosure Commission for a ruling on
whether the bundling of vouchers is allowed. That decision is expected on Jan. 26.
City Council At-Large Position 8
The open council seat, which is being vacated by Council Member Tim Burgess, drew two new
candidates this week. Sheley Secrest, a leader with the Seattle King County NAACP, announced her
candidacy on Monday. On Wednesday, Washington State Labor Council Political Director Teresa
Mosqueda announced her candidacy. They join housing activist Jon Grant and several others in
competing for the seat.
Restaurant After Hours
From 6:30-8:30 p.m. on Feb. 1, the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce is hosting the 13th
annual Restaurant After Hours at the Seattle Aquarium, and it is looking for more restaurants to join the
fun! More than 25 of Seattle’s most delicious restaurants come together under one roof for this event,
where 800+ chamber members network while enjoying local bites. More information on the event can
be found here, and please contact Shelby Krogh at [email protected] or 206-389-7311 if you
are interested in participating.
Media Report
The Seattle Restaurant Alliance was in the news this week regarding the new restaurant grading system:
 Seattle Weekly: http://www.seattleweekly.com/news/king-county-unveils-emoji-based-foodsafety-system/
 Seattle Globalist: http://www.seattleglobalist.com/2017/01/17/seattle-king-county-food-safetyratings-emojis/60993
 KOMO: http://komonews.com/news/local/seattle-king-county-restaurants-to-launch-newgrading-system-with-emoticons
 Patch – Elliott Bay Brewing mentioned: http://patch.com/washington/seattle/new-king-countyemoji-restaurant-rating-system-unveiled-seattle
 KING 5: http://www.king5.com/news/local/restaurant-grading-system-starts-next-week-in-kingcounty/386025622
 KIRO: http://www.kiro7.com/news/local/king-county-restaurant-ratings-rollout-nextweek/484262250
Calendar for Next Week
Monday, Jan. 23
 9:30 a.m. - Council Briefing (agenda includes an update on police accountability legislation)
 2 p.m. - Full Council Meeting
Tuesday, Jan. 24
 9:30 a.m. – Civil Rights, Utilities, Economic Development & Arts Committee
 10 a.m. – No Child Sleeps Outside celebration event at Mary’s Place
 2 p.m. – Energy & Environment Committee
 6 p.m. – Paid Family Leave Conversation with Council Member Lorena Gonzalez (details and
RSVP)
Wednesday, Jan. 25
 9:30 a.m. – Gender Equity, Safe Communities & New Americans Committee
 2 p.m. – Human Services & Public Health Committee
Thursday, Jan. 26
 No events scheduled
Friday, Jan. 27
 No events scheduled