Washington
Be in the Know: New Rules on Leave
Washington requires paid medical leave (PML) and paid family leave (PFL) income replacement benefits for eligible workers who need time off from work for qualifying reasons.
Coverage and cost
Learn more about your state rules and eligibility.
Covered employers
All private sector and some public sector employers are covered.
Coverage options
Employers may use the state or a private plan. Private plans must be approved by the state.
Cost
- Total PFML cost is 0.74% (increasing to 0.92% effective 1/1/25) of an employee's gross wages capped at the annual Social Security Maximum of $168,600.
- Employee Contribution: 0.5286% of the total 0.74% (0.7152% of the total 0.92% effective 1/1/25).
- Employer Contribution: 0.2114% of the total 0.74% (0.2848% of the total 0.92% effective 1/1/25).
- The employee maximum PML/FL combined contribution is 71.43% of the total cost. Employers pay 28.57% of the total cost.
- Employers fund the additional cost of the private plan above the employee maximum contribution limit. Employer may elect to pay all or part of employee contribution.
- Employers with fewer than 50 employees are not required to pay the employer portion of premium.
Employee eligibility
Worked at least 820 hours of employment during the qualifying period
Leave reasons
Caring for a family member, child bereavement, bonding, and qualified exigency
Job protection
The law provides job protection for employees who take leave provided they meet certain tenure and hours-worked requirements in the 12 months just before leave:
| Plan options | Minimum tenure | Minimum hours worked |
|---|---|---|
| State plan | 12 months | 1,250 |
| Private plans | 9 months | 965 |
Under both state and private plans, employers must maintain health benefits only if they must already be maintained under FMLA. Under the state plan, job protection provisions only apply if the employer has 50+ employees in the state of Washington.
Benefits
- PML allows 12-week maximum.
- PFL 12 weeks (14 weeks for a pregnancy that results in incapacity)
- Bereavement (limited to 7 calendar days) following the death of a child within 12 months of birth or placement
- Combined 16 weeks (18 weeks for a pregnancy that results in incapacity)
- Waiting period of 7 calendar days (excluding child bonding and qualifying exigency)
Timeline and key dates
- 2017: The state of Washington passed legislation that allows most employees to receive paid leave to take care of themselves, a sick family member or a new child.
- Effective January 1, 2020
Need more information?
Visit Washington’s website for additional details.
How Unum can help
Unum does not offer the Washington PFML insurance plan. Unum does administer an employer’s self-funded Washington PFML plan.
Still looking for more information?
Check out our latest in leave content, and explore the State PFML Guide and our Leave Toolkit.
Have questions?
Reach out to our sales team to learn more about Unum's state PFML and absence management solutions.