FMLA in Washington: Federal Rules, State Leave Laws, and an Eligibility Calculator (2026)

How does FMLA work in Washington?

The federal FMLA applies in Washington exactly as it does everywhere: up to 12 workweeks of unpaid, job-protected leave in a 12-month period for employees with 12 months of service, 1,250 hours worked in the prior 12 months, and 50 or more employees within 75 miles of their worksite, at a private employer with 50 or more employees or any public agency or school. Washington adds Pregnancy disability leave (Washington Law Against Discrimination), which covers employers with 8 or more employees and gives leave for the period of sickness or temporary disability from pregnancy or childbirth, with reinstatement. Washington Paid Family and Medical Leave pays a benefit during the leave, paid sick leave is mandated by the Paid Sick Leave Law (Initiative 1433), and there is a bereavement leave rule. Checked September 15, 2026.

Does the federal FMLA apply in Washington?

Yes, and identically to every other state. The federal Family and Medical Leave Act gives an eligible employee up to 12 workweeks of unpaid, job-protected leave in a 12-month period for a serious health condition, a new child, care for a spouse, parent, or child with a serious health condition, or a military exigency, and up to 26 weeks to care for a seriously injured servicemember. To be eligible you need 12 months of service with the employer, 1,250 hours actually worked in the 12 months before the leave, and a worksite with 50 or more employees within 75 miles. Private employers are covered at 50 or more employees on the payroll in 20 or more workweeks; public agencies and schools are covered at any size.

The three employee tests are measured on the day the leave starts, and the third one is the one that surprises people in Washington: a covered employer with a small branch has a worksite where nobody is eligible if fewer than 50 employees work at that branch and at other sites within 75 road miles. Hours actually worked in the prior 12 months decide the 1,250-hour test; paid time off and holidays do not count. The calculator on this page runs all three tests and, when one fails, names the date or the hours that would satisfy it.

What Washington leave laws add to the FMLA

One state statute sits on top of the FMLA in Washington. Pregnancy disability leave (Washington Law Against Discrimination) (WAC 162-30-020; RCW 49.60) applies to employers with 8 or more employees and gives leave for the period of sickness or temporary disability from pregnancy or childbirth, with reinstatement for pregnancy, childbirth, and related conditions. Eligibility: none stated. Runs concurrently with the FMLA and with PFML medical leave; it is the job-protection rule for pregnancy at small employers the PFML restoration test does not reach.

Is FMLA leave paid in Washington?

The FMLA itself pays nothing. Whether the 12 weeks are paid depends on the state program, any disability insurance, and the employer's own paid leave, which may be substituted for the unpaid leave under 29 CFR 825.207. Washington runs Washington Paid Family and Medical Leave: benefits since January 2020. Up to 12 weeks family or medical, 16 combined, plus 2 for pregnancy complications. From January 1, 2026, job restoration after 180 days at employers with 25 or more employees (15 or more from 2027, 8 or more from 2028), per HB 1213. It covers the employee's own serious health condition as well as bonding and family care, so there is no separate disability program. PFML protects the job under its own test, which HB 1213 loosened from January 1, 2026: 180 days of employment at an employer with 25 or more employees (15 or more from 2027, 8 or more from 2028). Before 2026 the test mirrored the FMLA's 12 months, 1,250 hours, and 50 employees.

While the state benefit is paid the leave is not unpaid, so an employer may not require PTO to run at the same time; several programs let the employee top up to full pay with PTO if the employer agrees. Paid sick leave is mandated statewide by the Paid Sick Leave Law (Initiative 1433), accruing at 1 hour per 40 hours worked up to no annual usage cap; unused hours up to 40 carry over; seattle and Tacoma add local requirements. Those hours can be substituted for unpaid FMLA leave. The Washington paid leave calculator linked below estimates the weekly benefit under the current formula and cap.

Bereavement, sick leave, and the smaller Washington statutes

Bereavement: Paid Family and Medical Leave pays up to 7 days of leave after the death of a child within a year of birth or placement, including stillbirth (RCW 50A.05.010, since 2023). There is no general bereavement mandate. The federal FMLA does not cover bereavement at all, though it does cover the serious health condition that precedes a death.

The smaller statutes a multi-state employer has to carry in Washington, one line each.

How the 12-month period and the calculator work in Washington

The federal entitlement in Washington is 12 workweeks in the 12-month period the employer has chosen: calendar year, a fixed leave year, 12 months forward from first use, or a rolling 12 months measured backward from each day of leave. The method must be applied to everyone, disclosed in the rights and responsibilities notice, and changed only on 60 days' written notice. Under the rolling method every hour returns 12 months after the day it was taken; under the other three the full entitlement returns on one date. With no general state statute in Washington, the federal method is the only clock to track.

The calculator on this page is preset to Washington. Run the eligibility panel as of the leave start date, convert the schedule into hours (480 for a 40-hour week), then enter the leave taken and the employer's method to see the hours available today, the hours available on a future date, and, under the rolling method, the dates on which used hours come back.

Sources and last check

This page was checked on September 15, 2026 against Washington Employment Security Department, Paid Leave (paidleave.wa.gov); Washington Department of Labor and Industries; RCW 49.12.270, 49.46.210, 50A; WAC 162-30-020. The federal rules are 29 U.S.C. 2601 ff. and 29 CFR Part 825. State thresholds and programs change, most often on January 1; the paid leave figures on the linked calculator carry their own effective dates.