The law many people still call the Washington Family Leave Act is now delivered through the state’s Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) program, which took effect in 2020 under RCW Title 50A and is run by the Employment Security Department. It gives eligible workers up to 12 weeks of partially paid leave each year to recover from a serious health condition, bond with a new child, or care for a family member, with longer allowances in certain situations. The older unpaid-leave protections under RCW 49.78 still exist separately, but PFML is where the wage-replacement benefit lives today.
Who Qualifies
You qualify for benefits once you have worked at least 820 hours in Washington during a qualifying period.1Washington State Legislature. Washington Code 50A.15 – Benefits That period is the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters before you apply, or the last four completed quarters if you don’t hit the threshold under the first calculation.2wa-law.org. Washington Code 50A.05 – General Provisions Hours from every Washington employer in that window count together, so people juggling multiple part-time or seasonal jobs can reach the threshold by combining them.
Self-employed workers and independent contractors are not automatically covered. You can opt in, but doing so commits you to at least three years in the program, with quarterly income reporting and premium payments. After the initial term, coverage renews in one-year increments unless you withdraw during a 30-day window at the end of each term.3Washington State’s Paid Family and Medical Leave. Elective Coverage Opt In Federal employees are excluded from PFML because they are covered by separate federal leave programs.
Reasons You Can Take Leave
PFML covers two kinds of leave. Medical leave is for your own serious health condition, including illness, injury, surgery recovery, or pregnancy-related complications. Family leave covers bonding with a new child during the first 12 weeks after birth, adoption, or foster placement; caring for a family member with a serious health condition; and handling issues that arise when a family member is on military deployment.
The program’s definition of family is wide. It includes children, parents, spouses, domestic partners, grandparents, grandchildren, siblings, and anyone who relies on you for care, whether or not you live together.4Washington State’s Paid Family and Medical Leave. Find Out How Paid Leave Works A serious health condition means either inpatient care or ongoing treatment by a healthcare provider, which is the category most claims fall into.
How Much You Get and for How Long
Most workers can take up to 12 weeks of paid leave per claim year for a single qualifying event. If you have both a medical event and a family event in the same year, such as recovering from surgery and later caring for a sick parent, you can combine them for up to 16 weeks. A serious pregnancy-related health condition that causes incapacity can push the total to 18 weeks.5Washington State Legislature. Washington Code 50A.15 – Benefits
You don’t have to take the time in one continuous block. Intermittent leave is allowed, so you can use your approved hours in smaller pieces for things like recurring treatments or a gradual return to work. Once your approved hours run out, your leave and your job-protection rights both end, even if the dates on your approval haven’t passed.6Washington State’s Paid Family and Medical Leave. How Paid Leave Works
Your weekly benefit is tied to how your average weekly wage compares to the statewide average weekly wage:
- If you earn half the state average or less, you receive 90 percent of your average weekly wage.
- If you earn more than half the state average, you receive 90 percent of half the state average, plus 50 percent of your earnings above that midpoint.5Washington State Legislature. Washington Code 50A.15 – Benefits
The maximum weekly benefit for 2026 is $1,647, and the minimum is $100. Both figures are adjusted periodically based on the state’s average wage.
Benefits don’t begin on day one. There is a seven-day waiting period, which starts on the Sunday of the first week you take leave, and you need to miss at least eight consecutive hours during that week for it to count. You are not paid for the waiting week, but it applies only once per 52-week claim year, so a second qualifying event later that year starts paying immediately. Bonding leave after a birth or placement, medical leave taken right after giving birth, and military exigency leave are exempt from the waiting period entirely.
How to Apply
Tell Your Employer First
If your leave is planned, give your employer written notice at least 30 days ahead of your start date. If something unexpected forces you out, notify them as soon as you reasonably can. A letter, email, or text message works. Include the date, the type of leave (family, medical, or both), and the dates you expect to be out. You are not required to describe your medical condition or the family situation behind the leave.7Washington Paid Family & Medical Leave. Notifying Your Employer About Taking Leave
Gather Your Documents
You’ll need to verify your identity with either one stand-alone document, such as a U.S. passport or state-issued driver’s license, or two alternate documents from an approved list, which can include an IRS ITIN letter.8Washington State’s Paid Family and Medical Leave. Identification Verification Documents If you’re applying based on a serious health condition, your healthcare provider must complete and sign a Certification of a Serious Health Condition form.9Washington Paid Family & Medical Leave. Medical Certification – Serious Health Condition Pull together recent pay stubs or tax records too, since the state uses wage data to confirm your hours and calculate your benefit.
File Online
Applications go through a SecureAccess Washington (SAW) account, the state’s shared login portal.10Washington State’s Paid Family and Medical Leave. Apply Now After logging in, you enter your leave dates, upload your certification forms, and submit. Scan or photograph your documents before you start so the uploads go cleanly.
Processing currently takes about three to four weeks.11Washington State Paid Family and Medical Leave. About the Program The state may contact your employer to verify your work hours and leave dates. You’ll get the decision through your online account or by mail. Once approved, you file brief weekly claims to keep payments coming during your leave.
Keeping Your Job and Your Health Coverage
Job protection rules changed significantly on January 1, 2026. You now qualify for guaranteed job restoration if you work for an employer with 25 or more employees and have been there at least 180 calendar days, roughly six months. The old minimum-hours requirement is gone.12Washington State’s Paid Family and Medical Leave. Job Protection for Employees The employer-size threshold keeps dropping: 15 employees in 2027 and 8 employees in 2028.13Washington State Legislature. Washington Code 50A.35.010 – Employment Protection
Restoration means being returned to the same position or an equivalent one with the same pay, benefits, and conditions. If your position would have been eliminated anyway, as in a company-wide layoff, your employer is not required to hold it open.12Washington State’s Paid Family and Medical Leave. Job Protection for Employees
As of 2026, employers must also keep your healthcare coverage in place while you are on protected PFML leave, on the same terms as if you were still working. If you also qualify under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the state and federal leaves generally run at the same time rather than stacking.
If Your Claim Is Denied
You have 30 days from the date on the denial notice to appeal. Appeals must go in by mail or fax, not online. Your letter needs your name, claim ID or Social Security number, address, phone number, the specific decision you are contesting and why you disagree, and your signature.14Washington State’s Paid Family and Medical Leave. Disputes and Appeals
The Employment Security Department may review new information and issue a fresh determination. If it keeps the original decision, the case moves to the Office of Administrative Hearings, which schedules a formal hearing and sends you the date and time. Miss the 30-day window and you generally lose the right to challenge the decision, so put the date from the denial letter on your calendar and act on it quickly.14Washington State’s Paid Family and Medical Leave. Disputes and Appeals