“Employer” is defined broadly as any individual or type of organization having any person in employment. interplay with employer-provided paid leave.Ī summary of select WPFML provisions follows.Some topics impacted include the following: In addition, on December 20, 2019, the WPFML Phase Six (the final phase) of rulemaking went into effect. See below for further details regarding notice and posting requirements. Generally, employers are required to display the poster in conspicuous places on the employers’ premises. When an employee who may be eligible to receive WPFML benefits is absent from work due to family leave or medical leave for more than seven consecutive days, the employer must provide the employee a written notice of rights. The ESD recently provided guidance regarding the mandatory notice to employees and the mandatory poster. For a list of covered absences, see below. Benefit payments to eligible employees are set to begin on January 1, 2020. Employers should have begun collecting employees’ premium contributions on Janu(to the extent they have not opted to cover the employee portion of the premium), and the initial wage reporting and premium payment period was from July 1 - August 31, 2019. WPFML is funded by a combination of employer and employee contributions. Later in 2020, Washington, DC paid family and medical leave benefits will become available to eligible employees, which will then be followed by Massachusetts in 2021, Connecticut in 2022, and Oregon in 2023. When WPFML benefits become available to employees tomorrow, Washington will become the fifth state with an active paid family leave program - joining California, Rhode Island, New Jersey and New York. Over the past few weeks, the Washington Employment Security Department (“ESD”) has concluded the final phase of rulemaking and provided several updates regarding employer notice and posting requirements including publishing a model notice and poster. WPFML premium withholdings began January 1, 2019, and eligible employees can start receiving WPFML benefits as of January 1, 2020. Seyfarth Synopsis: The Washington State Paid Family and Medical Leave (“WPFML”) law was enacted in 2017.