Who gets left out? And how can we fix it?

Five years ago, this summer, Washington state implemented a life-changing law for working families across the state, the Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) Act.

Washington’s PFML program provides 12 weeks, and sometimes up to 18 weeks, of extended leave from work to recover from a serious health condition, bond with a newborn or newly placed foster or adopted child, care for a seriously ill family member or cope with a family member’s military deployment. The program is funded by a premium shared by employees and employers. Currently, an employee must work 820 hours and have a qualifying event to use PFML.

Washington is one of 13 states that offer PFML. However, it also has one of the country’s most restrictive policies for job protection. Nine out of 13 states offering this form of paid leave protects all eligible workers.

Learn more about the current Paid Family and Medical Leave program.

The Paid Family and Medical Leave Act was passed in 2017, and benefits began in 2020. Since then, it has continued to grow in popularity and usage. Since its inception, the program has helped hundreds of thousands of families stay afloat during a medical crisis or the arrival of a new child. In 2024 alone, the program paid out $5.9 billion in benefits and processed 883,000 successful applications.

However, not everyone benefits in the same way. Even though all employees contribute to the program, taking extended leave from work can be risky for some because not all workers have the right to return to work after utilizing PFML.
The current law only provides job protection to about 50% of the workforce: Workers whose employer employs 50 or more employees, have worked for that employer for at least one year, and have accumulated 1250 hours of work in the past year. Having job protection with PFML means that when you take extended leave, your employer has to allow you to return to work in the same or similar position. The other 50% of qualifying workers do not meet the criteria to have job protection. For these workers, taking Paid Family and Medical Leave could result in getting fired and losing health benefits during a medical crisis. According to a study conducted by the University of Washington Evans School of Public Policy and Governance, about 53% of eligible workers qualify for job protection, with much lower rates for workers with low earnings and in some industries. More disheartening, only 16% of low-wage workers qualify for job reinstatement compared to 70% of the highest earners. From the study:

“Protected leave is more available to higher-earning workers. Job protection rates for eligible workers also vary by industry, from a low of 25% in food and accommodation services to over 76% in the utilities industry. Other industries with lower estimated job protection rates are other services (26%), natural resources extraction (31%), arts and entertainment (32%), and construction (32%).”

Since implementing Paid Family and Medical Leave, the Economic Opportunity Institute (EOI) and the Washington Work and Family Coalition have conducted outreach and focus groups to spread the word about this essential benefit that workers pay into and are eligible for.

We heard time and time again that without the assurance of returning to work, taking extended leave, even if paid, was not possible. Workers across industries and in every stage of life shared their difficulties planning around life’s most challenging moments. We worked directly with community organizations in Pierce and Yakima counties that provide application support to low-wage workers and immigrant communities. We consistently saw workers’ faces fall when we told them they were eligible for leave but not eligible for job protection if they took it. For many working in the service industry, this was particularly worrisome.

During the summer and fall of 2019, EOI conducted four listening sessions with Black women to identify barriers to taking leave. All of the participants expressed great enthusiasm for Paid Family and Medical Leave but were disappointed to learn that job reinstatement was not guaranteed for all workers, stating that Black workers were already at higher risk of losing their jobs when taking extended leave due to racist attitudes and historically and current systemic inequities. Some women said they may take a few weeks off, but 12 weeks was much too risky.

These inequities are stark. It is clear that without job protection, lower-income earners are less likely to use the program even though they are also the most likely to need such a program when experiencing a medical emergency or the arrival of a new child.

During the 2025 legislative session, the Washington Work and Family Coalition will advocate to ensure all workers can take paid leave without fear of losing their jobs. State Representative Liz Berry has sponsored House Bill 1213, which changes the current law and protects all workers.

The proposed legislation would provide job protection to all workers who:

• Have worked with their employer for at least 90 calendar days. This aligns the time an employee starts earning paid sick leave,
• Have worked at least 820 hours in the past year, and
• Have a qualifying event (requirements already in the law).

Under this new proposal, Paid Family and Medical Leave would run concurrently with the federal Family and Medical Leave (FMLA) Act, giving some workers protected unpaid leave if certain conditions are met. If passed, HB 1213 would also reduce the minimum claim for benefits from eight consecutive hours to four. This allows workers to take leave in four-hour increments, ensuring less work time missed and is accessible for part-time workers.

Download the fact sheet and share with your community.

Life is unpredictable, and nearly everyone will need to take extended leave from work to deal with uncertainties. HB 1213 provides Washingtonians with what they need to care for themselves and those they love through it all.

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The Washington Work and Family Coalition comprises organized labor, women’s rights organizations, community advocates, senior citizen advocates, anti-poverty organizations, and much more.