EMPLOYMENT SECURITY DEPARTMENT

[Filed May 14, 2020, 3:16 p.m., effective June 14, 2020]

Effective Date of Rule: Thirty-one days after filing.

Purpose: The employment security department is responsible for implementing the paid family and medical leave program in accordance with Title 50A RCW. Rule making is being done on an ongoing basis. This rule making provides clarification on the definition of "claim year" and creates a definition for "sibling."

Citation of Rules Affected by this Order: New WAC 192-500-190 Sibling; and amending WAC 192-500-070 Claim year.

Statutory Authority for Adoption: RCW 50A.05.060.

Adopted under notice filed as WSR 20-08-119 on March 31, 2020.

A final cost-benefit analysis is available by contacting Janette Benham, Employment Security Department, P.O. Box 9046, Olympia, WA 98507-9046, phone 360-790-6583, TTY Washington relay 711 (contact Teresa Eckstein at 360-507-9890 for accommodations), email janette.benham@esd.wa.gov, website https://www.opentownhall.com/portals/289/forum_home.

Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.

Number of Sections Adopted at the Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.

Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's own Initiative: New 1, Amended 1, Repealed 0.

Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.

Number of Sections Adopted using Negotiated Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Pilot Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 1, Amended 1, Repealed 0.

Date Adopted: May 13, 2020.

Policy and Rules Manager

AMENDATORY SECTION(Amending WSR 19-08-016, filed 3/22/19, effective 4/22/19)

WAC 192-500-070Claim year.

(1) A "claim year" is the ((fifty-two week)) period beginning Sunday of the week of((:

(a) The date of the birth or placement of a child; or

(b) The date of the filing of a complete and timely application for all other qualifying events.

(2)))the date an eligible employee files a complete initial application for benefits and ending the Saturday fifty-two weeks later.

(2) The entitlement to family leave benefits for the birth or placement of a child expires at the end of the twelve-month period beginning on the date of such birth or placement.

(3) For applications that are backdated, the claim year is the fifty-two week period beginning Sunday of the week to which the application was backdated.

(((3)))(4) An employee may only have one valid claim year at a time.

Example 1: An employee experiences an injury that qualifies as a serious health condition. Three days later, on Thursday, March 4, 2021, the employee files a complete initial application for medical leave benefits. The employee's claim year will run from Sunday, February 28, 2021, to Saturday, February 26, 2022.

Example 2: An employee filed an application for medical leave in March 2021. The employee took four weeks of medical leave and returned to work. The employee's spouse gives birth to a child in September 2021. The employee elects not to take family leave until April 2022. Because the employee's first claim year has already expired, the employee must file a new application and begin a new claim year in order to take family leave beginning in April 2022.

Example 3: An employee gives birth on Thursday, March 4, 2021. The employee elects not to submit an application for paid family leave until Monday, April 5, 2021. Though the employee's claim year will run from Sunday, April 4, 2021, to Saturday, April 2, 2022, the employee will not be able to claim family leave after March 3, 2022, for the birth of the child. The employee can claim leave for other qualifying reasons for the period March 4, 2022, through April 2, 2022, subject to the maximum duration limits.

WAC 192-500-190Sibling.

"Sibling" means an individual who shares at least one parent, as defined by RCW 50A.05.010(15), with another individual.