This bill amends RCW 50A.15.020 to change how paid family and medical leave benefits are paid and administered. It creates a seven‑day waiting period (the first seven consecutive calendar days) before benefits are payable, with no waiting period for birth or placement of a child or a qualifying exigency. The waiting period begins the Sunday of the week when an otherwise eligible employee takes leave for the minimum claim duration; employees may satisfy the waiting period while using paid time off. The minimum claim duration (payment unit) is four consecutive hours. Weekly benefits are prorated to the share of hours on leave compared to the typical workweek, benefits are rounded down to the next lower whole dollar and hours are rounded down to the next lower whole hour. The bill sets benefit amount rules and caps. It specifies a two‑tier weekly benefit formula: if an employee’s average weekly wage is less than or equal to one‑half of the state average weekly wage the benefit equals 90% of the employee’s average weekly wage; a second tier calculation is specified for other employees that uses 90% of one‑half of the state average weekly wage plus 50% of the difference between the employee’s wage and that one‑half amount (the extracted text omitted the exact comparator language for this second tier). The initial maximum weekly benefit for leave on or after January 1, 2020 is $1,000, with the commissioner required to adjust the maximum by each September 30 thereafter to 90% of the state average weekly wage (with a specified exception for the 2026/2027 adjustment); adjusted maximums take effect the following January 1. The bill also sets a minimum weekly benefit floor of $100 unless the employee’s wage is less than $100, in which case the benefit equals the employee’s full wage. The bill also changes duration and classification rules: it caps paid family leave at 12 times the typical workweek hours in any 52‑week period and medical leave at 12 times the typical workweek hours plus an additional 2 times the typical workweek hours for a serious pregnancy‑related health condition causing incapacity. Combined family and medical leave benefits are capped at 16 times the typical workweek hours, extendable to 18 times for a serious pregnancy‑related health condition that causes incapacity. Postnatal leave used by an employee described in RCW 50A.05.010(23)(a)(ii)(B) is treated as medical leave unless the employee elects family leave, and certification of a serious health condition is not required for paid postnatal leave for those employees. The extracted text references definitions and terms in RCW 50A.05.010 (for example, “typical workweek hours,” “qualifying exigency,” and the employee category in 50A.05.010(23)(a)(ii)(B)) that are not included here, so those definitions and any other related provisions are uncertain from the provided material.

If enacted, eligible workers would have the first seven calendar days of a leave claim as a waiting period before state benefits start, except for birth/placement of a child and certain military exigencies; workers can use their own paid time off to cover that waiting week. Benefits are paid in units of at least four consecutive hours, prorated to the share of a typical workweek taken, and both hours and weekly payments are rounded down, which will reduce payouts slightly for partial-week leave and part‑time workers. Weekly benefit levels follow a two‑tier formula that replaces a flat rate with higher replacement for lower earners and an initial maximum of $1,000 that the commissioner must adjust annually to 90% of the state average weekly wage (with a specified exception for 2027), and there is a $100 weekly floor unless the worker’s wage is under $100. The practical impact concentrates on eligible employees (especially part‑time and postnatal claimants) receiving smaller, more precisely prorated payments and having a likely unpaid first week unless they use PTO; employees covered by the postnatal provision can get paid postnatal leave without medical certification unless they elect family leave. The commissioner gains an ongoing duty to set the maximum benefit each year, which affects program costs over time; caps on total leave hours (12× typical workweek for family or medical, combined cap 16× or 18× for certain pregnancy‑related incapacity) limit total benefit exposure. Key terms like “typical workweek hours,” the exact scope of the qualifying exigency exception, and which employees fit the cross‑referenced postnatal category are not defined in the facts provided, so the precise effect on some workers is unclear.