Washington state’s amended leave laws provide opportunities for new parents

Earlier this year, Washington Governor Jay Inslee signed into law amendments to the state’s Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) Act, which permit additional paid leave opportunities for new parents. The PFML amendments became effective on June 9, 2022.

Bereavement-type leave

The PFML amendments add bereavement as one of the qualifying reasons for paid leave for new parents. Specifically, employees are now permitted to take paid leave during the seven days following the death of their child. The amendments apply only to the following individuals:

• Those who would have qualified for medical leave because of their own pregnancy with the child.
• Those who would have qualified for family leave to bond with their child in the first 12 months after the birth.
• Those who would have qualified for family leave to bond with their child in the first 12 months after placement of the child.

The additional rights are limited to new parents. Under the first two scenarios described above, the rights to paid leave are tied to the pregnancy and birth of the child, so the leave is available only to employees who suffer the loss of a stillborn baby, a newborn, or a child under 12 months of age. In the third situation, the leave could be available to an employee who suffers the loss of a child under 18 years old, but only if the child was placed with the employee in the previous 12 months.