# Washington — State paid family and medical leave program contribution rates, benefits, and eligibility

For Washington, program name is Paid Family and Medical Leave; benefits start date is January 2020; total contribution rate is 1.12 percent; employer share is approximately one-third of total premium; employee share is approximately two-thirds of total premium, recorded from its source on 2026-08-15.

- **State:** Washington _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **Program name:** Paid Family and Medical Leave _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **Benefits start date:** January 2020
- **Total contribution rate:** 1.12 percent _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **Employer share:** approximately one-third of total premium
- **Employee share:** approximately two-thirds of total premium
- **Maximum weekly benefit:** $1,647
- **Wage replacement formula:** 90 percent of the employee's wage up to 50 percent of SAWW plus 50 percent of employee's wage over 50 percent of SAWW
- **Family leave duration:** 12 weeks _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **Medical leave duration:** 12 weeks _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **Employer size threshold:** 1 employee
- **Covered reasons:** bonding, own serious health condition, family caregiving, military exigency, pregnancy loss _(our reading, not quoted from the source)_
- **Program website:** https://paidleave.wa.gov/ _(verified: appears in the quote below)_

## What the source says

> see <https://paidleave.wa.gov/find-out-how-paid-leave-works/> Washington Paid Leave . In 2023, Washington began to allow seven days for a pregnancy loss or loss of a child. Washington’s contribution rate in 2026 is 1.12 percent. See DC <https://dcpaidfamilyleave.dc.gov/employers/> tax rates . DC extended the duration of paid family and medical leave to a total of 12 weeks

## Sources disagree

More than one authority states this, and they do not state the same
thing. Both are reproduced with the source each came from.

### Total contribution rate

newamerica.org says total contribution rate is **1.12 percent**, as of 2026-08-15.

> see <https://paidleave.wa.gov/find-out-how-paid-leave-works/> Washington Paid Leave . In 2023, Washington began to allow seven days for a pregnancy loss or loss of a child. Washington’s contribution rate in 2026 is 1.12 percent. See DC <https://dcpaidfamilyleave.dc.gov/employers/> tax rates . DC extended the duration of paid family and medical leave to a total of 12 weeks

Source: https://www.newamerica.org/insights/explainer-paid-leave-benefits-and-funding-in-the-united-states/

paidleave.wa.gov says total contribution rate is **1.13%**, as of 2026-08-15.

> Washington State&#039;s Paid Family and Medical Leave Paid Leave updates to know in 2026. <https://paidleave.wa.gov/updates> Learn more.

Source: https://paidleave.wa.gov/updates/


### Employer share

newamerica.org says employer share is **approximately one-third of total premium**, as of 2026-08-15.

> see <https://paidleave.wa.gov/find-out-how-paid-leave-works/> Washington Paid Leave . In 2023, Washington began to allow seven days for a pregnancy loss or loss of a child. Washington’s contribution rate in 2026 is 1.12 percent. See DC <https://dcpaidfamilyleave.dc.gov/employers/> tax rates . DC extended the duration of paid family and medical leave to a total of 12 weeks

Source: https://www.newamerica.org/insights/explainer-paid-leave-benefits-and-funding-in-the-united-states/

paidleave.wa.gov says employer share is **28.57% of the total premium**, as of 2026-08-15.

> Washington State&#039;s Paid Family and Medical Leave Paid Leave updates to know in 2026. <https://paidleave.wa.gov/updates> Learn more.

Source: https://paidleave.wa.gov/updates/


### Employee share

newamerica.org says employee share is **approximately two-thirds of total premium**, as of 2026-08-15.

> see <https://paidleave.wa.gov/find-out-how-paid-leave-works/> Washington Paid Leave . In 2023, Washington began to allow seven days for a pregnancy loss or loss of a child. Washington’s contribution rate in 2026 is 1.12 percent. See DC <https://dcpaidfamilyleave.dc.gov/employers/> tax rates . DC extended the duration of paid family and medical leave to a total of 12 weeks

Source: https://www.newamerica.org/insights/explainer-paid-leave-benefits-and-funding-in-the-united-states/

paidleave.wa.gov says employee share is **71.43% of the total premium**, as of 2026-08-15.

> Washington State&#039;s Paid Family and Medical Leave Paid Leave updates to know in 2026. <https://paidleave.wa.gov/updates> Learn more.

Source: https://paidleave.wa.gov/updates/


## Source

- https://www.newamerica.org/insights/explainer-paid-leave-benefits-and-funding-in-the-united-states/
- https://paidleave.wa.gov/updates/

Last verified: 2026-08-15. Review by: 2026-12-13.
Part of [State paid family and medical leave program contribution rates, benefits, and eligibility](https://referencesource.org/state-paid-family-leave-programs/).