As we previously shared, effective January 1, 2026, Washington House Bill 1213 expanded worker protections under Washington’s Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program (PFML) and allows employers to limit employees’ ability to “stack” their job restoration benefits under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and PFML. Additional information regarding these and other changes to Washington leave administration are summarized in our recent article, “Washington Legislature Expands Worker Protections and Clarifies ‘Stacking’ Limits for Paid Family and Medical Leave.”
Among the many changes to PFML, HB 1213 added two new employer notice requirements. Just recently, Washington’s Employment Security Department (ESD) published template notices that employers may tailor to particular circumstances. The PFML notice requirements—and the associated template notice—are summarized below.
- Initial Notice: When an employer becomes aware that an employee is taking family leave, medical leave, or a combination of both for a duration of more than seven consecutive days of work, the employer must provide a written notice to the employee about their rights. The notice must be sent to the employee by the later of (1) the fifth business day after the employee’s seventh day of missed work due to family or medical leave, or (2) the fifth business day after the employer becomes aware the employee’s absence is due to family or medical leave. ESD has prepared a template Statement of Employee Rights that employers may tailor to meet these notice requirements.
- (NEW) Return to Work Notice: The amendments to PFML now expressly require that an employee exercise their right to reinstatement on the first scheduled workday after their continuous or combined intermittent leave. If the employee’s leave exceeds two workweeks of continuous leave (or 14 workdays of combined intermittent leave), then the employer must provide at least five business days’ written notice of (1) the employee’s first scheduled workday, and (2) the estimated expiration of the employee’s job restoration rights. ESD recently published a template “Job Protection Rights” notice that employers may tailor to meet these notice requirements.
- (NEW) Job Restoration Notice: If an employee experiences a qualifying reason for leave under both FMLA and PFML and they choose not to apply for PFML benefits, the employer may reduce the employee’s PFML job restoration rights by the amount of FMLA leave taken. To do so, the employer must provide written notice to the employee both (1) within five business days of the employee’s request for leave, and (2) on a monthly basis thereafter. The required notice must include the following statements and/or information:
- That the employee’s unpaid leave is designated as FMLA leave;
- The amount of FMLA leave the employee has used and has remaining;
- The FMLA leave year start and end dates;
- The amount of FMLA leave counting toward the job protections under PFML; and
- That the employee’s eligibility for benefits under PFML is not impacted by the stacking of job protection rights under PFML and FMLA.
ESD recently published a template “FMLA Impact on Paid Leave Job Protection” notice that employers may tailor to meet these requirements. Note that employers may choose not to limit employees’ ability to “stack” their job restoration benefits in this manner, in which case, the employer is not required to provide this notice.
Key Takeaways for Employers
- Confirm that your leave administrators and HR personnel involved with employee leaves are familiar with the recent changes to PFML and related notice requirements.
- If you have not already, integrate the return to work notice requirement into current leave administration practices. Work with counsel if you would prefer to develop a notice that is tailored to your organization or its practices.
- Consider whether you would like to reduce employee job restoration rights by the amount of FMLA leave taken where permissible and, if so, develop recordkeeping practices and/or protocols to ensure compliance with legal requirements (including the above-referenced notice requirement) and preparation for any inspection or audit by the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries.
The legal issues impacting this topic are and will continue to be ever-changing (Employment Law in Motion!), and since publication of this blog post, new or additional information not referenced in this blog post may be available.
This article is provided for informational purposes only—it does not constitute legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship between the firm and the reader. Readers should consult legal counsel before taking action relating to the subject matter of this article.
