This bill amends RCW 50A.15.020 to change how paid family and medical leave benefits are calculated, paid, and limited. It creates a seven-consecutive-calendar-day waiting period for benefits (with no waiting period for birth or placement of a child or qualifying exigency under RCW 50A.05.010(10)(c)), beginning the previous Sunday of the week in which an otherwise eligible employee takes leave for the minimum claim duration. The minimum claim duration for payment is four consecutive hours, and employees may meet the waiting period while simultaneously using employer-paid time off for any part of it. Weekly benefits are prorated by the percentage of hours on leave compared to the employee’s typical workweek hours, with hours on leave rounded down to the next lower whole hour and benefits rounded down to the next lower whole dollar. The bill changes benefit formulas and limits. It specifies a two-tier weekly benefit calculation: employees with an average weekly wage at or below one-half of the state average weekly wage receive 90% of their average weekly wage; employees above that threshold receive 90% of one-half the state average weekly wage plus 50% of the difference between their wage and that half-state average. The maximum weekly benefit for leave occurring on or after January 1, 2020, is initially $1,000, and the commissioner must annually adjust the maximum by September 30 to equal 90% of the state average weekly wage, effective the following January 1. The minimum weekly benefit is $100 unless the employee’s average weekly wage at the time of leave is less than $100, in which case the benefit equals the employee’s full wage. The bill also alters duration caps and medical certification rules. It sets maximum durations expressed as multiples of the typical workweek hours over a 78-consecutive-calendar-week period: paid family leave no more than 12 times typical workweek hours; paid medical leave no more than 12 times typical workweek hours (with an additional two times the typical workweek hours available for pregnancy-related incapacity); and a combined cap of 16 times typical workweek hours, extendable to 18 times for pregnancy-related incapacity. Postnatal paid leave used by employees described in RCW 50A.05.010(23)(a)(ii)(B) must be medical leave unless the employee elects family leave, and certification of a serious health condition is not required for postnatal paid leave used by those employees. The text references definitions and eligibility criteria in RCW 50A.05.010 and uses the term “commissioner,” but those definitions and the specific office holding the commissioner role are not shown in the extracted material, and broader statutory context for the change from 52 to 78 weeks is not provided.

If enacted, the law would change how and when paid family and medical leave payments start and how long they can be taken. Employees would have a seven-calendar-day waiting period (but none for birth, child placement, or qualifying exigencies), and that waiting period can be satisfied while using employer paid time off; claims must reach a minimum paid increment of four consecutive hours and weekly benefits are prorated to hours on leave, with hours and dollar amounts rounded down. Benefit levels would still be income‑tiered (90% up to half the state average weekly wage, then a blended formula above that), with a floor of $100 per week (or the employee’s full wage if their average is under $100) and an annually adjusted maximum set to 90% of the state average weekly wage. The bill also raises the overall available leave limits by measuring caps in multiples of an employee’s typical workweek over a 78‑week period: up to 12 times the typical workweek for family or medical leave (with an extra two times for pregnancy‑related incapacity), a combined cap of 16 times the typical workweek (or 18 with pregnancy‑related incapacity), and rules treating certain postnatal leave as medical leave without requiring medical certification unless the employee elects family leave. Who this most affects are eligible employees (including those with pregnancy or serious conditions) because it changes how much leave and pay they can receive and how payments are calculated, and it affects the program commissioner and employers who must apply the new waiting, rounding, cap, and annual maximum adjustment rules. Important details needed to implement these changes—such as the precise definition of “typical workweek hours,” the qualifying exigency and postnatal eligibility references, which office “commissioner” refers to, and the broader timing or interaction with other law changes—are not included here.