Washington Paid Family and Medical Leave Program.
The Washington Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) Program, administered by the Employment Security Department (ESD), provides partial wage replacement benefits to employees on leave for specified family and medical reasons.
Benefits. An eligible employee may access PFML benefits for a qualifying event if the employee worked at least 820 hours for one or more employers during a qualifying year. An eligible employee may access up to 12 weeks of medical leave or family leave benefits, or up to 16 to 18 weeks of combined medical and family leave benefits in a year. An eligible employee may receive benefits up to 90 percent of the employee's wages, subject to a weekly maximum, which is $1,542 in 2025.
Eligible employees' use of paid leave benefits is based on need. Depending on the circumstances, an eligible employee may use paid leave benefits in a single continuous period (possibly reaching the maximum allowable benefit period) or may use it intermittently. The minimum claim period to qualify for benefits is eight consecutive hours.
Premiums. The PFML Program is funded through premiums paid by employers and employees. Employers collect the premium on each employee's taxable wages and remit the funds to the ESD on a quarterly basis, which are then deposited into the Family and Medical Leave Insurance Account. The total premium rate for combined family leave and medical leave benefits is established through a statutory formula and adjusted annually by the ESD. The total premium for 2025 is 0.92 percent of taxable wages, of which 71.52 percent is allocated to employees and 28.48 percent is allocated to employers, except employers with fewer than 50 employees are not required to pay the premium.
On September 30 of each year, the ESD calculates the size of each employer for purposes of the following calendar year by averaging the number of employees reported by the employer over the last four completed calendar quarters. The calculation is used for determining whether an employer must pay the employer portion of the premium and/or qualifies for a small business grant.
The ESD Office of Actuarial Services must submit annual reports to the PFML Advisory Committee and the Legislature on the experience and financial condition of the Family and Medical Leave Insurance Account.
Employment Protection. An employer with 50 or more employees is required to restore an eligible employee to an equivalent position with equivalent pay and benefits upon returning from leave in the PFML Program, often referred to as "employment protection" or "employment restoration." To qualify for employment protection, the employee must meet the eligibility criteria for receiving benefits in addition to a separate minimum hours threshold aligning with the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). The employee must have worked for the employer for at least 12 months and for 1,250 hours in the year before the first day of paid leave benefits. However, if the employer has opted to use an approved employer-managed voluntary plan for paid family and medical leave, then employment protection must be given to any employee who has worked for the employer for at least nine months and for at least 965 hours in the previous year. An employer may deny employment protection to any salaried employee who is among the highest paid 10 percent of the employees employed by the employer within 75 miles of the facility at which the employee is employed if certain conditions are satisfied.
Health Care Coverage. If the FMLA requires the employer to maintain health care coverage during any period in which an eligible employee uses paid or family medical leave benefits in the PFML Program, then the employer must also maintain the coverage during the employee's leave. If the employer and employee share the cost of the existing health benefits, the employee remains responsible for his or her share of the cost.
Small Business Grants. Employers with 150 or fewer employees may apply for a grant through the ESD. The amount of the grant varies, as follows:
An employer may not receive both types of grants, except that an employer who received a wage-related costs grant may receive a grant of the difference between wage-related costs grant and $3,000 if the employee extended his or her leave beyond what was initially planned, and the employer subsequently hired a temporary worker for the employee on leave. An employer may apply for a grant no more than 10 times per calendar year and no more than once for each employee on leave. If an employer with fewer than 50 employees receives a grant, the ESD must assess the employer for all premiums for three years. Grants are paid from the Family and Medical Leave Insurance Account
Outreach. The ESD must conduct outreach to ensure that eligible employees are made aware of the PFML Program. Employers are also required to inform employees about the PFML Program by posting certain notices developed by the ESD. Employers may also provide an optional paystub insert developed by the ESD.
Enforcement. The ESD may inspect and audit employer files and records relating to the PFML Program. The ESD is authorized to conduct certain enforcement actions to ensure compliance with PFML Program requirements.
Federal Family and Medical Leave Act.
The FMLA allows an eligible employee to take up to 12 weeks of job-protected, unpaid leave in a 12-month period for a qualifying reason. Eligible employees are also entitled to continuing health care benefits. The FMLA applies to employees who have worked for a private employer with 50 or more employees or for a public employer, and have worked for the employer for at least 12 months and for at least 1,250 hours during the previous 12 months. Upon return from leave, the employee is entitled to be returned to the same or an equivalent position.
State law provides that PFML Program benefits must be used concurrently with leave under the FMLA, unless an employer permits otherwise. But if an employee uses leave under the FMLA before using PFML benefits in the same year, there is no mechanism for reducing PFML benefits or employment protection. This is commonly referred to as stacking.
Washington Paid Family and Medical Leave Program.
Benefits. The minimum claim period to qualify for benefits is reduced to four consecutive hours.
Premiums. The method by which the ESD calculates the size of an employer for purposes of premium requirements and grant eligibility is modified. On September 30 of each year, the ESD must average the number of employees reported by an employer on the last day of each quarter over the last four completed calendar quarters.
The ESD Office of Actuarial Services must submit a report within 10 business days to the PFML Advisory Committee and the Legislature if it projects that a deficit in the Family and Medical Leave Insurance Account will not be recovered through the next quarterly premium collections.
Employment Protection. The standards for employment protection are modified. The employer size threshold is decreased over a three-year period, providing an eligible employee with protection if the employer has:
The minimum hours threshold for qualifying for employment protection is removed. Instead, to qualify for protection, an employee must have begun employment with his or her current employer for at least 180 calendar days before taking leave. This applies to both to employers participating in the PFML Program and to those opting to use approved voluntary plans.
A mechanism for addressing stacking of certain employment protection benefits is established. Employment protection is extended to any period of unpaid leave protected by the FMLA where the employee was eligible for PFML Program benefits but did not apply for and receive those benefits, so long as the employer provides certain written notices to the employee. The written notices must include certain elements identified in the bill, including that the leave is counting against any permitted period of employment protection under the PFML Program and the FMLA, and that the use of unpaid leave does not affect the employee's eligibility for benefits in the PFML Program. Maximum periods of employment protection are established. Except by written agreement between the employer and employee or a bargaining unit, the employee forfeits the right to employment restoration if the employee does not exercise it upon the earlier of the:
Health Care Coverage. The requirement for employers to maintain health care coverage is expanded. Employers must maintain an employee's health care coverage during any period of leave in the PFML Program in which the employee is also entitled to employment protection.
Small Business Grants. The eligibility criteria and requirements for the small business grant are modified to apply only to employers with 50 to 150 employees.
The bill establishes a new $3,000 grant for employers with fewer than 50 employees. The grant may be used for covering the costs of hiring a temporary worker to replace an employee on leave for a period of seven days or more or for significant additional wage-related costs due to the employee's leave, which may be documented through an attestation submitted by the employer.
For either category of grants, an employer must submit an application no later than 12 months after the employee's first day of leave. The ESD must submit payment to the employer within 14 calendar days after receiving a qualifying application. An employer may not receive a grant more than 10 times per calendar year and more than once per employee. The ESD must assess any employer who receives a grant for all premiums for three years. Grants are paid from the Family and Medical Leave Insurance Account. The ESD must send employers certain notices and publish information on its website regarding grant eligibility.
Outreach. The ESD must conduct regular outreach to employers regarding their responsibilities in the PFML Program. The written statement of employee rights and posters distributed and posted by employers must include certain elements.
Enforcement. The ESD may conduct periodic audits of employer files and records for the purposes of assisting with and otherwise enforcing compliance. The ESD may require the employer to collect and report information on the exercise of employment protection rights.
| House | 55 | 41 | |
| Senate | 28 | 20 | (Senate amended) |
| House | 57 | 38 | (House concurred) |
January 1, 2026