Washington State Is Latest To Enact Paid Family Leave Legislation

On July 5, 2017 Washington became the latest state to enact some form of paid family and medical leave. The new law goes into effect in January 2020 and will provide employees with up to twelve (12) weeks per year of paid family leave for the following purposes:

The employee's own serious health condition; Care of a family member with a serious health condition; Care of a child new to the family following birth, adoption or placement in foster care; or For qualifying exigencies due to a family member's deployment to active duty in the US Armed Forces. The definition of family includes an employee's spouse, child, parent, sibling, grandparent or grandchild. There are many aspects of the law which distinguish it from traditional unpaid leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act ("FMLA") including the fact that employees become eligible after 820 hours of work with an employer (as contrasted with 1250 under FMLA). In addition, if an employee has a need for both medical and family care leave during the same 52-week period, he or she may be granted leave up to sixteen (16) weeks or even eighteen (18) weeks for pregnancy related medical complications. The benefit, which may be up to 90% percent of the employee's average weekly wage capped at $1000 per week, will be paid for by contributions from both employers and employees...