Washington’s Paid Family and Medical Leave program, known as PFML, pays partial wages when you take time off for your own serious health condition, to bond with a new child, or to care for a family member. If you’ve worked at least 820 hours in Washington during the qualifying period, you can receive up to 12 weeks of benefits for a single event (up to 16 combined, or 18 for certain pregnancy complications), with a maximum weekly payment of $1,647 in 2026.
Whether You Qualify
You need 820 hours of work in Washington during the qualifying period, which is the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters before your leave starts — or the four most recently completed quarters, whichever gives you a better result.1Washington State Legislature. RCW 50A.15.010 – Benefit Eligibility Hours from multiple employers add up, so part-time and seasonal work counts. Only hours worked in Washington qualify; time logged in another state does not.2Washington State’s Paid Family and Medical Leave. Localization and Out-of-State Employees
Once eligible, you can take leave in three broad situations. Medical leave covers your own serious health condition, including surgery recovery, chronic illness treatment, and pregnancy complications. Family leave covers bonding with a new child (biological, adopted, or foster) within the first year, caring for a family member with a serious health condition, or dealing with a family member’s military deployment to a foreign country.
Who Counts as a Family Member
Washington uses a broader definition than many people expect. Spouses and domestic partners, children, grandchildren, parents, parents-in-law, grandparents, and siblings all qualify. So does anyone who regularly lives in your home and depends on you for care, which can cover relationships that don’t fit standard categories.3Washington State Legislature. RCW 50A.05.010 – Definitions Cousins, nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles, and friends generally don’t qualify unless they live with you and depend on your care.
How Much You’ll Be Paid
Your weekly benefit is based on your average weekly wage measured against the statewide average. The Employment Security Department calculates your average by adding wages from your two highest-earning quarters in the qualifying period and dividing by 26.4Washington State Legislature. RCW 50A.15.020 – Benefit Amount and Duration
The formula has two tiers. If your average weekly wage is at or below 50% of the state average, you receive 90% of it. If you earn above that mark, you get 90% of half the state average, plus 50% of whatever your wages exceed the halfway mark. The minimum weekly benefit is $100 (or your full average weekly wage if it’s less than that), and the 2026 maximum is $1,647.4Washington State Legislature. RCW 50A.15.020 – Benefit Amount and Duration
Most claims begin with a seven-day unpaid waiting week. You can use employer-provided paid time off during that week without affecting your future PFML payments. The waiting week doesn’t apply to leave for the birth or placement of a child or to leave for a military exigency.4Washington State Legislature. RCW 50A.15.020 – Benefit Amount and Duration
How Long You Can Be Out
You can take up to 12 weeks of paid medical leave or 12 weeks of paid family leave within a claim year. If you have more than one qualifying event in the same year — surgery followed by caring for a sick parent, for instance — you can combine them for up to 16 weeks total.5Washington State’s Paid Family and Medical Leave. How Paid Leave Works
Pregnancy complications open a longer window. If you experience a condition during pregnancy or childbirth that causes incapacity, you may qualify for up to 18 weeks in a single year.5Washington State’s Paid Family and Medical Leave. How Paid Leave Works For medical leave, your healthcare provider decides how much time is medically necessary. The 12-week figure is a ceiling, not an automatic entitlement.
Whether Your Job Is Protected
Starting January 1, 2026, your employer must hold your job (or an equivalent position) for the full duration of your leave when two conditions are met: the employer has 25 or more employees, and you’ve worked there at least 180 days before your first day of leave.5Washington State’s Paid Family and Medical Leave. How Paid Leave Works Below either threshold, you can still collect benefits, but you don’t have a statutory guarantee that your specific job will be waiting.
Employers who owe you job protection also have to maintain your existing health insurance during leave. You may still owe your share of the premium, but coverage can’t be dropped. Smaller employers can voluntarily maintain benefits during leave, though they aren’t required to.5Washington State’s Paid Family and Medical Leave. How Paid Leave Works
How PFML Interacts With FMLA
If you’re also covered by the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (which requires 12 months of employment and 1,250 hours at an employer with 50 or more workers), PFML and FMLA generally run at the same time when the same event triggers both. FMLA carries its own federal job-protection and health-insurance requirements, which can extend coverage where state protections don’t apply. Your employer cannot require you to use accrued paid time off before you use PFML benefits.6Washington State’s Paid Family and Medical Leave. Benefit Guide
What It Costs You in Premiums
PFML is funded through payroll premiums on wages up to the Social Security cap ($184,500 in 2026). The total premium rate for 2026 is 1.13% of covered wages. Employees pay 71.43% of that premium and employers pay the remaining 28.57%.7Washington State’s Paid Family and Medical Leave. Updates For someone earning $60,000 a year, the employee share works out to roughly $484 in annual deductions.
Businesses with fewer than 50 employees don’t have to pay the employer share, though they still collect and remit the employee portion.8Paid Leave Washington. Small Businesses – 150 Employees or Fewer
How to Apply
File your claim through the state’s online portal by logging in at SecureAccess Washington (SAW). Once you have an account, add the Paid Family and Medical Leave service to your dashboard and follow the application prompts. You’ll provide identifying information and verify your employment history. If you don’t have a Social Security Number or ITIN, contact the Employment Security Department for a paper application.9Washington State’s Paid Family and Medical Leave. Apply Now
Submit your application within 30 days of your qualifying event. If more time has passed, you may be able to backdate your claim by showing “good cause” — meaning factors beyond your control, such as a serious health condition or a natural disaster, kept you from filing. File as soon as those factors end, and bring documentation of what caused the delay.10Washington State Paid Family and Medical Leave. WAC 192-610-040 – Backdating Applications
You also have to give your employer written notice at least 30 days before leave begins. When leave isn’t foreseeable, such as an emergency surgery, notify your employer as soon as you can.11Washington State’s Paid Family and Medical Leave. Employer Requirement to Provide Notice to Employees Keep a copy of the notice.
Documentation for Medical Claims
For medical leave, or family leave to care for someone with a serious health condition, submit one of: the state’s certification form completed by you and your healthcare provider, a federal FMLA form, or a doctor’s note covering the same information the certification form requires.9Washington State’s Paid Family and Medical Leave. Apply Now The provider describes the condition and certifies that leave is medically necessary. Make sure the name on your medical documents matches your legal identification exactly; mismatches trigger manual reviews that slow everything down.
After Your Claim Is Approved
Payments arrive by prepaid debit card or direct deposit. You file a weekly claim each week you’re on leave to keep benefits flowing. Filing false information brings steep consequences: a first offense means a 15% penalty on the overpaid amount plus a 26-week disqualification, and penalties escalate from there.12Washington State Legislature. RCW 50A.15.060 – Overpayment Penalties
If your claim is denied, you have 30 days from the date of the decision notice to file an appeal. Employers have the same 30-day window.13Washington State’s Paid Family and Medical Leave. Disputes and Appeals There’s no general extension, and a missed deadline typically ends your ability to challenge that decision.
Employer Supplemental Pay
Because PFML replaces only part of your wages, some employers offer supplemental pay to close the gap. This is voluntary. If your employer specifically designates certain paid time off as a supplemental benefit, those payments don’t reduce your state benefit and you don’t report them on your weekly claim.6Washington State’s Paid Family and Medical Leave. Benefit Guide Paid time off that hasn’t been designated as supplemental has to be reported and will reduce your benefit. Confirm the designation with your employer before your leave starts.
Federal Taxes on Your Benefits
Washington has no state income tax, so the state tax question doesn’t come up. Federal treatment depends on the type of leave.
Family leave benefits are included in your federal gross income, and the Employment Security Department issues a Form 1099-G for them.14Washington State’s Paid Family and Medical Leave. Payments The state does not issue a 1099-G for medical leave. Under IRS guidance effective for the 2025 tax year, medical leave benefits funded by employee contributions are not included in federal gross income, while the portion attributable to employer contributions is treated as taxable sick pay. The state doesn’t withhold federal taxes from benefit payments, so make estimated payments or adjust your job’s withholding if you’ll owe tax.
If You’re Self-Employed
Self-employed workers aren’t automatically covered, but you can opt in. Once you elect coverage, you report your self-employment income and pay premiums quarterly, the same way an employer would.15Washington State’s Paid Family and Medical Leave. Self-Employed The 820-hour eligibility rule still applies. Opting in is a commitment: you generally stay in for at least three years before you can opt back out. For freelancers and gig workers without employer leave, it’s one of the few routes to partial wage replacement during a medical or family event.