Starting on January 1, 2019, Washington employers will be required to collect premiums and report employee information for the new Paid Family and Medical Leave Program (PFML). Shortly after, beginning in 2020, benefits will be available to employees, making Washington the fifth state in the nation to offer paid family and medical leave benefits to workers. To help employers prepare and understand the new law, the Employment Security Department (ESD) recently released a new Paid Family and Medical Leave Employer Toolkit.
PFML will be funded through shared premiums paid by employers and workers in the form of paycheck withholdings and will be administered through ESD. The program will allow qualified workers to take up to 12 weeks, as needed, to care and bond after a baby’s birth or the placement of a child, care for a family member experiencing an illness or medical event, care for a personal illness or medical event, and for certain military-connected events. Workers experiencing multiple events in any given year may be eligible to receive up to 16 weeks, or up to 18 weeks if the employee experiences a serious health condition with a pregnancy.
More information on the Paid Family Medical Leave Program can be found on the PFML website.