2026 is ringing in changes to the Washington Paid Family and Medical Leave law (WPFML) with new rules published by the Employment Security Department (ESD) and new model notices for Washington employers to send out to employees. As we previously reported, WPFML was amended to expand job restoration rights and continued health insurance coverage for newer employees (employed at least 180 days) and to employees of smaller companies (25 or more employees), effective January 1, 2026. The amended law also allows employers to count leave taken under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) against an employee’s job restoration period under WPFML.
New Rules: ESD published revised rules to implement the changes in the amended law, effective January 1, 2026. The adopted rules can be found on the WPFML rulemaking page (see the section entitled “CR-103 – Adopted rules” and look for the rule entitled Employment restoration, notices, and continuation of health benefits). ESD also created an updates page on the WPFML website, providing revised information and resources that reflect these changes.
Covered Employers: Employers with 25 or more employees will now be subject to WPFML job restoration requirements and continuing health insurance coverage for employees taking leave. Covered employers are required to return the employee to the same or substantially similar job (“job restoration”) when the employee returns from leave, if the employee has been employed there at least 180 calendar days prior to taking the leave. An employee who qualifies for job restoration is also entitled to continue health insurance coverage while on leave on the same terms as if they were continuing to work (as reported in a separate article in this newsletter).
Employer Size: For job restoration purposes, your size is determined by the maximum number of employees in Washington that are shown on your payroll each workday for 20 or more calendar weeks in either the current calendar year or the preceding calendar year. This is described on the WPFML website, How is employee count of an employer determined for job protection, and in the ESD rulemaking Concise Explanatory Statement (p. 2).
New Job Restoration Notice Required: Beginning January 1, 2026, you are required to provide a written notice of job restoration rights to your employees taking WPFML leave who are entitled to job restoration, including those whose leave started in 2025. This notice requirement is triggered once the employee has been on WPFML leave for 14 days, and must be provided to the employee at least 5 business days before the employee is expected to return to work.
Counting FMLA Leave: If you have an employee taking FMLA leave who is eligible for WPFML and has chosen not to take it, you now have the option of counting the employee’s FMLA leave time against their job restoration period if they choose to take WPFML later in the year. To take advantage of this option, you must provide the employee with a written notice within 5 business days of the start of their FMLA leave (or, in the first 5 business days of 2026 for leave that began in 2025). Additional written notices are required monthly for the remainder of the FMLA leave year to take advantage of this option.
New Notice Templates: To assist you in providing these new notices, see our new Washington Paid Family and Medical Leave Job Restoration Notices, for model notices you can customize and provide to employees. ESD is also creating sample notices that are expected to be available on the WPFML updates page by the end of December.
Immediate Action Items: Consider these actions that may apply at the start of January:
- Employees taking WPFML leave are entitled to health insurance coverage as of January 1, 2026, on the same terms as if they were working (see our separate article in this newsletter).
- A written notice of job restoration rights must be provided to any employee taking WPFML leave who is entitled to job restoration and has been on leave for 14 days or longer. The notice must be provided at least 5 business days before the employee is expected to return to work.
- If you have an employee taking FMLA leave who is eligible for WPFML but has chosen not to take it, and you want to preserve the option to count the employee’s FMLA leave time against their job restoration rights under WPFML later in the year, you must provide a written notice within the first 5 business days of 2026.
- A revised workplace poster from ESD is available on this WPFML webpage. Be sure to replace the outdated poster on your bulletin board and any other places where you display employment posters.
Tips: If you have any employees on leave or starting leave at the first of the year, review the WPFML updates webpage and Vigilant’s Model Form, Washington Paid Family and Medical Leave Job Restoration Notices. Make a New Year’s resolution to update your leave policies using Vigilant’s Model Policy, Washington Handbook Addendum on our member website. Reach out to your Vigilant Law Group employment attorney with any questions.
