If you’re a new father or partner working in Washington, paternity leave in Washington state comes through the Paid Family and Medical Leave program, which gives you up to 12 weeks of paid bonding time with a newborn, newly adopted, or newly placed foster child. Weekly benefits in 2026 top out at $1,647, and the program covers nearly every Washington worker regardless of employer size. Whether your job is legally protected while you’re gone is a separate question that depends on how big your employer is and how long you’ve been there.
Who Qualifies
You’re eligible if you worked at least 820 hours in Washington during a qualifying period.1Washington State Legislature. RCW 50A.05.010 – Definitions That period is normally the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters before you apply. If those quarters don’t get you to 820 hours, the state looks at the last four completed calendar quarters instead.2Paid Family and Medical Leave. Qualifying Period Definition
Hours count across every Washington employer you worked for in that window. Two part-time jobs, a switch mid-year, seasonal or gig work: it all adds together. If you hit 820 hours, you qualify on the same terms as a full-time salaried employee.
Self-employed workers aren’t automatically covered but can opt in through the state’s elective coverage program, reporting income and paying premiums quarterly to keep eligibility current.3Paid Family and Medical Leave. Self-Employed Elective Coverage
How Much Time You Can Take
Bonding leave is up to 12 weeks of paid time within any rolling 52-week period, and you must use it within 12 months of the child’s birth or placement.4Washington State Legislature. RCW 50A.15.020 – Amount of Family and Medical Leave
It doesn’t have to be one continuous block. Washington allows intermittent leave, so you can spread bonding time across shorter periods. In any week you claim leave, you have to use at least four consecutive hours.5Paid Family and Medical Leave. Find Out How Paid Leave Works That flexibility is useful if you want to ease back into work or save weeks for later in the first year.
Washington normally imposes a seven-day waiting period before benefits start, but bonding leave after a birth or placement is exempt. Your benefits start on day one.6Paid Family and Medical Leave. Concise Explanatory Statement – Waiting Period
How Much You Get Paid
The weekly benefit is tied to your average weekly wage compared with the statewide average. If your average weekly wage is at or below 50 percent of the state average, you get 90 percent of it. Above that midpoint, the formula blends two rates: 90 percent of the portion up to the midpoint, plus 50 percent of anything above it.4Washington State Legislature. RCW 50A.15.020 – Amount of Family and Medical Leave
Lower-wage workers end up replacing a larger share of their income than higher earners. The 2026 maximum weekly benefit is $1,647, and the state recalculates that cap each January based on the statewide average weekly wage.4Washington State Legislature. RCW 50A.15.020 – Amount of Family and Medical Leave
Whether Your Job Is Protected
Paid benefits and job protection are two separate things. Washington has its own restoration law, and the federal Family and Medical Leave Act layers on top of it when it applies.
Washington State Protection
Under state law, your employer must return you to the same position or an equivalent role with the same pay and benefits after your leave. For 2026, that protection applies if your employer has at least 25 employees and you worked there at least 180 days before leave began.7Washington State Legislature. RCW 50A.35.010 – Employment Protection The size threshold drops to 15 employees in 2027 and eight employees in 2028.
Federal FMLA Protection
FMLA gives you unpaid, job-protected leave if your employer has 50 or more employees within 75 miles of your worksite, you’ve been there at least 12 months, and you’ve worked at least 1,250 hours in the past year.8U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet #28: The Family and Medical Leave Act When both state PFML and federal FMLA apply, your employer can generally run them concurrently. Using FMLA leave doesn’t cut into the paid weeks you get from the state.9Paid Family and Medical Leave. How Paid Leave Works
If your employer is small enough to fall below both thresholds, you can still collect state paid benefits. You just won’t have a legal guarantee of getting your exact job back.
What You Pay In
The program is funded by payroll premiums. For 2026, the total premium is 1.13 percent of gross wages, split so employees pay 71.43 percent and employers pay 28.57 percent.10Paid Family and Medical Leave. Updates Employers with fewer than 50 employees are not required to pay the employer share, though many do.
Using PTO Alongside Your Benefit
Your employer cannot force you to burn through vacation, sick leave, or other PTO before you start collecting state benefits.9Paid Family and Medical Leave. How Paid Leave Works If you voluntarily use employer-paid time off during the same period, that pay will reduce your state benefit dollar for dollar, unless your employer formally designates it as a “supplemental benefit.” Employers who want to top off your state check so you’re closer to full pay need to set up that designation in advance.
Notifying Your Employer
You must give written notice before leave starts. When it’s foreseeable, like an expected due date or a scheduled adoption placement, notice needs to arrive at least 30 days ahead.11Washington State Legislature. RCW 50A.15.030 – Notice of Leave If timing is unexpected, give notice as soon as you reasonably can.
Say clearly that you’re requesting bonding leave and include the dates you expect to be out. Vague language about needing “time off” may not trigger your employer’s obligation to hold your position or coordinate with FMLA. Put it in writing even if your workplace is informal about these things.
How to Apply
You file through the state, not through your employer. Create an account on the SecureAccess Washington (SAW) portal and add Washington Paid Family and Medical Leave as a service.12Paid Family and Medical Leave. Apply Now
You’ll need:
- Your Social Security number or ITIN; if you have neither, contact the agency for a paper application.
- Proof of the child: a birth certificate, medical certification from a healthcare provider, or legal adoption or foster placement documents.
- Recent employer names, addresses, and approximate employment dates, so the state can verify your 820 hours.
- The start and end dates for your requested bonding period.
Current processing time is three to four weeks from submission to decision.10Paid Family and Medical Leave. Updates If your child is due in mid-March, submit in mid-February. You can apply before the birth as long as you have medical documentation of the expected date.
Filing Weekly Claims After Approval
Approval doesn’t trigger automatic payments. File a claim every week during leave to get that week’s benefit. Log into SAW, report any hours worked and other income received, and submit.13Paid Family and Medical Leave. After You Apply Missing a weekly filing delays payment, and letting several stack up turns into a mess. Set a recurring reminder for the same day each week.
Federal Taxes on Your Benefits
Washington has no state income tax, but the IRS treats paid family leave benefits as taxable federal income. Under Revenue Ruling 2025-4, the state sends you a Form 1099 reporting total benefits paid during the tax year. The payments are not subject to Social Security or Medicare withholding, but they do count as gross income on your federal return.14Internal Revenue Service. Revenue Ruling 2025-4
Washington doesn’t automatically withhold federal tax from your benefit payments. Twelve weeks of benefits at a moderate wage runs to several thousand dollars of income the IRS will want its share of. Setting aside roughly 10 to 15 percent of each payment, or asking a tax professional to estimate based on your full-year income and filing status, keeps April from being a surprise.