Companies with employees based in Washington state must take note of the significant changes made to the Washington Paid Family and Medical Leave (WA PFML) law going into effect on January 1, 2026.
Under House Bill (HB) 1213, the program expands the job protection rights under the state’s paid family and medical leave program in numerous ways, including increased job protection and health insurance coverage.
Changes to Job Protection
The law gradually requires more employers to provide job protection than previously required. Prior to January 1, 2026, only employers with 50 or more employees in Washington were required to provide job protection. Smaller employers that were previously exempt from this requirement and meet the size requirements below will be required to begin implementation of job protection for employees over a three-year period as follows:
Employers Subject to Job Protection Requirements
| Implementation Date | Employer Sizes |
| January 1, 2026 | 25-49 Employees in WA state |
| January 1, 2027 | 15-24 Employees in WA state |
| January 1, 2028 | 08-14 Employees in WA state |
Employee Eligibility
The new amendment lowers the eligibility requirement for employees to qualify for job protection. The new threshold will require employees to work at least 180 days before the start of leave, regardless of how many hours they have worked. Currently, job protection is only available if an employer has 50 or more employees, and employees are only eligible if they have worked for the employer for at least 12 months and 1,250 hours in a year before the first day of their paid leave.
Job Protection and FMLA Leave Stacking
As detailed in the final bill report, there is also a new stacking mechanism allowing (but not requiring) employers to count FMLA leave toward the total amount of leave entitled to job protection under the WA PFML, if the employee was eligible for WA PFML but did not apply for and receive it.
To utilize this mechanism, employers must provide a written notice within five business days of the employee’s initial request for or use of FMLA leave, whichever comes first, and then monthly thereafter for the remainder of the employer’s FMLA 12-month period.
FMLA Leave Stacking Notice Requirement
The notice provided must be in a language understood by the employee and delivered in a method that is reasonably certain to be received promptly by the employee and must include the following information:
- Employer is “designating and counting” the unpaid leave as FMLA leave
- The amount of FMLA time used and remaining, which the employer can estimate from information it receives from the state and the employee
- The employer’s 12-month FMLA leave year
- Notice that the FMLA leave is counted against any permitted period of employment protection under the WPFML program because the employee is eligible for the WPFML program but has not applied for and received its benefits
- The start and end date of the FMLA leave
- The total amount of FMLA leave counting toward the new job protection period under the WPFML
- Notice that the employee’s WPFML benefits are not impacted by the stacking of the job protection rights of the FMLA and WPFML
Job Reinstatement Rights Notice
Another new provision of the law requires employers to provide a notice of reinstatement rights to any employee taking more than two weeks of continuous leave or more than 14 days of intermittent leave. Employers must provide the written notice to the employee at least five business days before the return-to-work date and it must include the estimated expiration before the employee’s job restoration is no longer guaranteed and the date of the employee’s first scheduled workday after their leave.
Employees Must Exercise Their Right to Reinstatement
Employees will now be required to actively request job reinstatement or risk forfeiting their right to job protection. Unless there is a written agreement in place between the employer and the employee that says otherwise, an employee will lose their right to employment restoration unless they exercise their right on the earlier of the first scheduled workday following: (1) the actual leave period under the FMLA and/or WPFMLA or (2) 16 weeks (18 weeks for incapacity due to pregnancy) of continuous or combined intermittent leave during 52 consecutive calendar weeks.
Insurance Continuation Now Mirrors New Job Protection Period
The new amendment expands the employer’s requirement to maintain health insurance coverage to “any period of leave in the PFML Program in which the employee is also entitled to job protection.” This is a change for employers because prior to January 1, 2026, employers were required to continue health insurance coverage during both FMLA and WPFMLA leaves, only if there was at least one day of overlap between the two types of leave. Just as before, employees must continue to pay their portion of the insurance premium to maintain coverage.
Other Changes
The HB1213 amendment also includes a provision allowing the state through the Employment Security Department (ESD) that administers WPFMLA, to periodically audit employer records for the purpose of assisting with and enforcing compliance.
On September 30 of each year, the ESD calculates the size of each employer to be used in the following calendar year by averaging the number of employees reported by the employer over the last four completed calendar quarters. The calculation is used for determining whether an employer must pay the employer portion of the premium and to verify if the employer qualifies for a small business grant.
Small Business Grants
Employers with 150 or fewer employees may apply for a grant through the ESD. The amount of the grant varies, and may be one of the following:
- $3,000 if the employer hires a temporary worker to replace an employee on family or medical leave for a period of seven days or more
- $1,000 as reimbursement for significant additional wage-related costs due to the employees’ leave
Employers may apply for a grant no more than 10 times per calendar year and no more than once for each employee on leave. If an employer with fewer than 50 employees receives a grant, the ESD must assess the employer for all premiums for three years.
For either category of grants the employer is applying for, the employer must submit the application no later than 12 months after the employee’s first day of leave. The ESD must submit payment to the employer within 14 calendar days after receiving a qualifying application. The ESD must send employers certain notices and publish information on it’s website regarding grant eligibility.
Employer Action
Employers should prepare for changes coming to the Washington Paid Family Leave program by updating written policies and procedures to reflect changes now required due to the updated provisions. Employers must provide all written notices to employees in a language understood by the employee in a timely manner.
Additional Resources
- Washington PFML Webpage
- Washington PFML Employer Webpage
- Washington PFML Reporting
- Washington PFML Employer Roles and Responsibilities
- Washington PFML Small Businesses
- Washington State Employment Security Department
Connect with a Sequoia consultant to learn how Sequoia’s compliance services are integrated in our benefits services and tailored solutions. And if you’re already a Sequoia client, stay on top of your employer obligations with your Compliance Checklist that highlights important compliance dates, action items, and resources.
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