By: HUB's Absence Management Team

Overview

On May 17, 2025, House Bill 1213 was signed into law, significantly expanding protections under Washington’s Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) program. The amended provisions take effect on January 1, 2026. This update outlines the bill’s impact on employer obligations, implementation timeline, and next steps for compliance.

Key Changes to Washington Paid Family Medical Leave

Job Protection: Employer Size Applicability

    Current law: Employers with 50+ employees are subject to job protection requirements during leave taken under WA PFML.

    Amended law: Through HB 1213, job protection requirements significantly expand to nearly all employers by January 1, 2028. The amended WA PFML provisions outline a phased approach, expanding job protection applicability to employers of decreasing size under the below timeline:

    • January 1, 2026 – December 31, 2026: Employers with 25+ employees
    • January 1, 2027 – December 31, 2027: Employers with 15+ employees
    • January 1, 2028 onward: Employers with 8+ employees

Job Protection: Employee Eligibility

    Current law: Employees must have worked 1,250 hours in the 12 months prior to WA PFML leave commences.

    Amended law: Employees must have worked for their employer for at least 90 calendar days (eliminates hourly threshold entirely).

Minimum Leave Period Reduction

    Current law: Minimum claim period of 8 consecutive hours.

    Amended law: Minimum claim period of 4 consecutive hours.

Continuation of Health Benefits

    Current law: Health benefits must be continued if WA PFML leave overlaps with FMLA for at least one day.

    Amended law: Health benefits must be continued during any period the employee is entitled to job protection.

Notification Requirements

    Current law: Employers must provide state-approved one-page written notice of employee rights under WA PFML within 5 business day after the 7th calendar day of absence due to family or medical leave, or within 5 business days after the employer has received notice that the employee’s absence is due to family or medical leave, whichever is later.

    Amended law: Employers must provide written notice within 5 business days of a leave request. For leaves exceeding 2 continuous weeks or 14 intermittent days, employers must provide at least 5 business days advance notice of:

    • Estimated end of job protection rights
    • Date of employee’s first scheduled workday

Concurrent Leave Provisions

    Current law: Employers must provide state-approved one-page written notice of employee rights under WA PFML within 5 business day after the 7th calendar day of absence due to family or medical leave, or within 5 business days after the employer has received notice that the employee’s absence is due to family or medical leave, whichever is later.

    Amended law: Employers can count unpaid FMLA leave toward the PFML job protection period for leave that also qualifies under WA PFML. Employers must provide specific written notice to employees within 5 business days when counting unpaid leave toward maximum job protection periods.

Next Steps For Employers

Employers should take the following actions to ensure compliance and prepare for HB 1213 changes:

    Immediate Actions (2025)

    • Assess Impact: Determine company size classification and how many employees will gain job protection rights.
    • Budget Planning: Anticipate potential additional costs related to maintaining health benefits and temporary staffing needs.
    • Policy Review: Begin updating employee handbooks, leave policies, and notice procedures to comply with the new requirements.

    Pre-Implementation Activities (By December 2025)

    • Assess Impact: Determine company size classification and how many employees will gain job protection rights.
    • Train HR Personnel: Ensure your HR team understands the new requirements for job protection, notices, and health benefits continuation
    • Develop Notice Templates:
      • Create written notice templates for:
        • Employee rights under PFML
        • Concurrent leave notifications
        • End of job protection notifications
    • Update Payroll Systems: If needed, adjust systems to handle the reduced minimum leave period of 4 hours
    • Explore Small Business Grants: If eligible, evaluate new grant opportunities to offset costs:
      • For employers with 50-150 employees: Existing grants remain available
      • For employers with fewer than 50 employees: Two new grant types:
        • $3,000 grant for hiring temporary workers or covering wage-related costs
        • Grants to cover employee healthcare benefit costs during leave

    Post-Implementation Activities (January 2026 onward)

    • Monitory Compliance: Conduct regular audits of your PFML administration processes.
    • Document Everything: Maintain thorough records of all noticed provided to employees.
    • Prepare for Further Changes: Note the scheduled threshold reduction ins 2027 and 2028 that may affect your business further.

    Additional resources regarding WA PFML and the impact of HB 1213 can be found at the following:

If you have any questions, please contact your HUB Advisor. We will continue to monitor and provide updates as more information becomes available. View more Workforce Absence Management updates in our WAM Bulletins page.

NOTICE OF DISCLAIMER
Neither Hub International Limited nor any of its affiliated companies is a law or accounting firm, and therefore they cannot provide legal or tax advice. The information herein is provided for general information only and is not intended to constitute legal or tax advice as to an organization’s specific circumstances. You should consult an attorney, accountant, or other legal or tax professional regarding the application of the general information provided here to your organization’s specific situation in light of your organization’s particular needs.