As of January 1, 2026, several important changes to Washington Paid Family and Medical Leave (WPFML) have taken effect (as we previously reported), including expanded health benefit coverage, which will affect employees whose leave crosses over from the end of 2025 into the beginning of 2026. Currently, health benefits continue if there’s at least one day of WPFML overlap with federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave. This meant a lot of workers taking WPFML weren’t eligible for health insurance because they weren’t eligible for FMLA or taking FMLA concurrently. Effective January 1, 2026, employees taking WPFML who qualify for job protection also get to keep their health benefit coverage. What if your employee’s leave started in 2025 but ends in 2026? According to the Employment Security Department (ESD) on its job protection webpage, healthcare benefits resume on January 1, 2026, regardless of when leave ends. The only reason benefits wouldn’t start on January 1 is if your employee wasn’t employed by you when they applied for WPFML or they weren’t entitled to job protection in the first place (e.g., your business has 25 or fewer employees or they worked for you fewer than 180 days).
Tips: If you don’t have any employees currently on WPFML, then you don’t need to worry about resuming healthcare benefits on January 1, 2026. Instead, focus on updating your policy using our newly released model policy in the Washington Handbook Addendum on our member website and creating your notices.
If you do have employees out on WPFML, determine whether they are eligible for benefits using the “eligibility for job protection” criteria listed on ESD’s job protection webpage. Talk to your insurance provider as soon as possible to work out any details, and be prepared to communicate with affected employees about how they will pay for their share of the premium while on leave. If you’re unsure how to begin, see our Model Form, FMLA: Employee Payment for Group Health Plan Coverage during Leave, for ideas and model language.
Questions on any of this? Members, contact your Vigilant Law Group employment attorney.
If your company isn’t yet a Vigilant member, contact us to see how membership allows you to proactively manage WPFML and other complex employment issues.
