The Employment Security Department (ESD) recently began the rulemaking process to implement HB 1213, the Paid Family & Medical Leave (PFML) job protections bill passed in 2025.

ESD has posted proposed changes to PFML rules for review. AWC has particularly focused on the proposed changes to implement the Job protection stacking and notices. We recently provided the following feedback to ESD expressing concerns with the proposed language.

In draft WAC 192-700-025(4)(b), an employer is required to notify an employee of “the start and end dates of the employer’s designated 12-month leave year under the FMLA.” The problem is that most employers use a rolling lookback method for FMLA, so it is impossible to specify the end date of the employer’s designated 12-month leave period. With the rolling method, the leave year technically never ends, as an employee can continue taking FMLA so long as, when you look back 12 months, they haven’t used more than 12 weeks of FMLA. So it’s a technical impossibility to provide the notice specified in the WAC. The rule needs to include options so that it’s possible to achieve compliance.

In draft WAC 192-700-030, please clarify that it only applies IF an employer is trying to take advantage of the stacking limitation. This WAC requires employer to provide a notice to employees regarding their employment restoration rights under PFML. Under current law it is extraordinarily difficult for employers to know when ESD deems an employee to have exhausted PFML because it depends on how ESD calculates PFML usages; however ESD doesn’t share with employers. Under this new legislation an employer can count some FMLA use against the PFML entitlement, so an employer would actually have information that ESD would not have (about an employee’s FMLA use). So it makes sense in that situation for an employer to notify an employee when they are about to exhaust protected leave. But it does not make sense in ALL cases for an employer to have that notification requirement. In situations where an employer is not counting FMLA against PFML entitlements, the employer is not in a good position to know exactly when ESD will conclude that an employee has exhausted PFML leave. It would thus be very unfair to require an employer to notify an employee of their restoration rights five days before PFML leave is exhausted.

We encourage cities to review these changes and provide feedback to ESD via rules@esd.wa.gov. We anticipate ESD will host additional meetings and we will share that information as it becomes available.

ESD announces PFML Rulemaking stakeholder meeting

Attend a stakeholder meeting to discuss Paid Leave draft rules. This is the second stakeholder meeting associated with the implementation of Engrossed Substitute House Bill 1213. Two new draft rules relating to the job protection stacking and notice provisions of the bill have been posted for review and discussion. While this meeting will focus on these new draft rules, comments on other draft rules pertaining to the bill will be accepted.

When: September 29, 2025, 9 am.

Where: The stakeholder meeting will be held via Teams

Find the draft rules on the Rulemaking page. Information on how to participate in the meeting is under the “Upcoming Meetings” heading.

The first stakeholder meeting was held on August 28. The meeting largely focused on several proposed rules that ESD has drafted, including:

• Assessing and collecting premiums – explicitly references the new statutory framework for assessing premiums. Sets forth two alternative methods for employers to submit their number of employees for the purpose of premiums.
• Small business assistance grants – eliminates sections referencing the expired pandemic leave assistance program. Incorporates statutory changes to the program: small employer (<50 employees) grants for hiring temporary workers or other wage related costs due to PFML use. Existing grants framework for larger employers (50-150 employees).
• Minimum claim duration – adjusting existing rule to account for statutory lowering of minimum claims from 8 hours to 4 hours.
• Determining employer size for employment protection – incorporates the statutory change that gradually reduces the size of employer whose employees are eligible for job protection. Clarifies that employees out on leave or other absences are still counted if they are reasonably expected to return to employment.
• Continuation of benefits – replaces the requirement that PFML leave run concurrently with FMLA leave by at least one day with new requirements in HB 1213 that no longer require concurrent leave to maintain benefits and ties them to job protection eligibility. Provides that if employee gives employer unequivocal notice that they do not intend to return to work, then benefits may cease.

Some discussion was held regarding development of rules on preventing stacking of PFML and federal Family and Medical Act (FMLA) leave, though there are currently no proposed rules yet. ESD is still taking comments and suggestions as they finalize their proposals, so cities should review the new statute, the proposed implementation rules, and send suggestions and comments to the Department as the rulemaking process continues. According to ESD staff, they are still considering whether to schedule an additional stakeholder meeting, or move ahead with the formal rulemaking process with the feedback they have already received.

Cities should reach out to Janette Benham at ESD with any comments or questions they have. You can also track announcements about upcoming meetings on the PFML rulemaking website.

At this time, ESD is still in the rules development process, and are actively seeking input from stakeholders before they move forward with their final versions of the rules. The formal rulemaking process will begin once the Department has completed their stakeholder outreach, with the goal of final adoption of the rules in late November. The provisions HB 1213 go into effect on January 1, 2026.