Washington State leave of absence laws give workers some of the strongest time-off protections in the country. The centerpiece is Paid Family and Medical Leave, a statewide insurance program that pays a portion of your wages for up to 12 weeks (sometimes longer) when you have a serious health condition, a new child, or a family member who needs care. Layered on top are mandatory paid sick leave, the Family Care Act, military family leave, and domestic violence leave. Each has its own eligibility rules, and they interact with federal FMLA in ways that matter for both your paycheck and your job.
Paid Family and Medical Leave
Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) covers almost every worker in Washington. You qualify once you’ve worked at least 820 hours in the state during your qualifying period, which is the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters before leave begins.1Washington State Legislature. Washington Code 50A.15 – Benefits Those hours can be combined across multiple employers. Four hundred hours at one job plus 420 at another gets you there.2Paid Leave Washington. How Paid Leave Works
The program covers two categories. Medical leave is for your own serious health condition, including illness, injury, surgery recovery, or pregnancy-related issues. Family leave covers bonding with a new child within the first year (birth, adoption, or foster placement), caring for a family member with a serious health condition, and certain military-connected situations such as a family member’s deployment. Qualifying family members include spouses, domestic partners, children, parents, grandparents, and siblings.2Paid Leave Washington. How Paid Leave Works
How Much and How Long
Your weekly benefit uses a two-tier formula tied to the state average weekly wage. You get 90% of your average weekly pay for the portion up to 50% of the state average weekly wage, then 50% of anything above that. The maximum weekly benefit for claims beginning in 2026 is $1,647. Lower-wage workers replace a higher share of their income under this formula.
How long you can be out depends on your situation:2Paid Leave Washington. How Paid Leave Works
- 12 weeks is the standard maximum for either a medical or a family leave event in a single year. For medical leave, the actual duration is what your healthcare provider certifies as medically necessary.
- 16 weeks is available when you have more than one qualifying event in the same year, such as a personal surgery plus caregiving for an ill parent.
- 18 weeks is available when a pregnancy or childbirth results in a condition causing incapacity beyond the standard bonding leave.
Job Protection and Health Insurance
Starting January 1, 2026, employers with 25 or more employees must restore you to the same or an equivalent position after PFML. You qualify for that job protection if you’ve worked for the employer for at least 180 calendar days before leave begins. There is no separate hours requirement for job protection itself.3Paid Leave Washington. Job Protection Requirements for Employers
If you qualify for job protection, your employer also has to maintain your existing health insurance while you’re out. You keep paying your usual share of the premium, but coverage cannot be dropped.2Paid Leave Washington. How Paid Leave Works Workers at smaller employers, or those still short of 180 days, can still collect PFML benefits. They just don’t have a state-law guarantee that a specific position will be held. Federal FMLA may fill that gap depending on employer size and tenure.
Applying and the Waiting Week
Give your employer written notice at least 30 days in advance for foreseeable leave, or as soon as you can for unexpected needs. The notice just has to state that you’ll be using paid leave and roughly how long you expect to be out. Emails, texts, and handwritten notes all count.2Paid Leave Washington. How Paid Leave Works
You file the claim through the SecureAccess Washington (SAW) portal at paidleave.wa.gov. You’ll create an account, link it to the paid leave program, and submit the application online.4Paid Leave Washington. Log In – Washington State’s Paid Family and Medical Leave You’ll need your Social Security number or ITIN and your employer’s information. For medical leave, your healthcare provider must complete the state’s certification form with expected start and end dates and basic clinical facts. A detailed diagnosis isn’t required in every case.
The Employment Security Department typically reviews applications within a few weeks. If they need more information, respond quickly to avoid delays. Once approved, you file weekly claims through the same portal to receive payments.
Most claims have a seven-day waiting period, which is the first seven consecutive calendar days starting from the Sunday of the week your leave begins. You don’t get paid for that week. There’s no waiting period for medical leave taken right after giving birth, bonding leave for a new child, or leave for a military exigency.5Paid Leave Washington. Concise Explanatory Statement – Waiting Period
Paid Sick Leave
Paid sick leave is a separate entitlement from PFML. Under RCW 49.46.210, virtually every Washington employer must provide it. You earn at least one hour for every 40 hours worked, with no cap on accrual during the year.6Washington State Legislature. RCW 49.46.210 – Paid Sick Leave Your employer must let you carry at least 40 unused hours into the next year.7Washington State Department of Labor & Industries. Paid Sick Leave Minimum Requirements
You can use paid sick leave for your own illness, injury, mental health, or preventive care. It also covers caring for a family member who needs medical attention, and it covers closures of your workplace or your child’s school ordered by a public official for health reasons.6Washington State Legislature. RCW 49.46.210 – Paid Sick Leave
For absences of more than three consecutive days, your employer can ask for documentation such as a note from your provider. They must give you at least ten calendar days after you return to work to provide it, and they cannot require you to disclose the specific nature of your condition.8Washington State Legislature. WAC 296-128-660
Other Leave You Should Know About
Family Care Act
The Family Care Act under RCW 49.12.270 doesn’t add a new bank of leave. It lets you use any paid leave your employer already offers, whether that’s sick time, vacation, PTO, or personal holidays, to care for a child with a health condition or a spouse, domestic partner, parent, in-law, or grandparent with a serious or emergency health condition.9Washington State Legislature. RCW 49.12.270 – Leave from Employment for Care of Family Members It’s useful for shorter-term situations that don’t rise to the level of a PFML claim.
Military Family Leave
If your spouse is a member of the military and has been notified of an impending call to active duty, or is home on leave from deployment, you’re entitled to up to 15 days of unpaid leave under the Military Family Leave Act. It applies to spouses of regular armed forces, National Guard, and reserve members.10Washington State Legislature. RCW 49.77 – Military Family Leave Act The leave is unpaid, though you may be able to use accrued PTO or vacation to cover lost wages.
Domestic Violence Leave
RCW 49.76 provides leave for employees who are victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking, and for family members of victims.11Washington State Legislature. RCW 49.76 – Domestic Violence Leave It allows reasonable leave to pursue legal protection, medical treatment, counseling, safety planning, or relocation. There is no fixed cap on days, but the leave must connect to one of those purposes.
How Washington Leave Works with Federal FMLA
Federal FMLA and Washington PFML often run at the same time. When your leave qualifies under both, the clocks tick concurrently. Using FMLA does not reduce your state paid leave benefits, so you effectively receive state wage replacement while also using your 12 weeks of federal job protection.12Paid Leave Washington. Find Out How Paid Leave Works
Eligibility is where they diverge. Federal FMLA applies only to private employers with 50 or more employees within 75 miles, and you must have worked for that employer for at least 12 months and 1,250 hours.13U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 28 – The Family and Medical Leave Act14Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 29 USC 2611 – Definitions Washington PFML has no employer-size threshold for benefits and a lower hours bar of 820. A small-company worker may qualify for state paid leave but not FMLA. A large-company worker who hasn’t been there long enough may qualify for state paid leave without FMLA job protection. The two sets of rules are worth checking separately.
Retaliation Is Prohibited
Washington law prohibits employers from punishing you for using any form of protected leave. That includes firing, demoting, cutting hours, reducing pay, issuing disciplinary write-ups, or threatening immigration-related action against you or your family.15Washington State Department of Labor & Industries. Termination and Retaliation The same protection applies to paid sick leave used for an authorized purpose.6Washington State Legislature. RCW 49.46.210 – Paid Sick Leave If you believe your employer has retaliated, you can file a complaint with the Department of Labor and Industries, which will investigate or refer the matter to the appropriate agency.