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Washington this year enacted a new law that will provide employees in the state with up to 12 weeks of paid leave to:

• welcome a new child in their family (through birth, adoption, or foster placement)
• address a serious illness or injury to himself or herself
• care for a seriously ill or injured relative, or
• prepare for a family member鈥檚 pre- and post-military deployment activities, as well as time for child care issues related to a family member鈥檚 military deployment.

Unless employers opt to pay these benefits directly under an approved plan, they will be funded through an insurance program administered by Washington鈥檚 Employment Security Department (ESD). Benefits will be based upon a percentage of the employee鈥檚 average weekly wage during the qualifying period up to a maximum amount. The initial maximum will be $1,000 per week, but that is expected to be adjusted annually, just like minimum wage. While these benefits can鈥檛 be used until Jan. 1, 2020, the reporting and withholding requirements for employers kick in Jan. 1, 2019.

The ESD recently published a 鈥渢oolkit鈥� for employers (available at ) to help them comply, but here is a quick overview of three key details all employers with employees in Washington need to know now:

1. Employers with even a single employee in Washington are expected to comply.

Washington employers are now required to report employee hours worked, wages earned, and additional information to ESD in April 2019, and every quarter thereafter. Unlike some other leave statutes, this law does not limit coverage by size. So, if a business has even one employee in Washington, it is expected to comply. The only employers that are fully exempt are the self-employed (although they may opt in), federal employees, federally recognized tribal employers (they also may elect to opt in), and employers that have employees in Washington only temporarily (more on that below).

Employers with fewer than 50 employees do not have to contribute toward the premiums, though they must still submit the required reports, and timely withhold and remit the employee鈥檚 portion of the premiums. There will also be grants available to certain smaller employers (i.e., those with fewer than 150 employees or those with fewer than 50 employees that have voluntarily opted to pay the employer portion for the premiums) to help defray the cost of hiring temporary employees to cover an absence due to an employee鈥檚 use of these paid leave benefits. Watch for more on that in the coming weeks.

2. The law has a broader definition of when employees are considered to be 鈥渨orking in Washington鈥� and thus potentially entitled to benefits.

Employees who regularly work in Washington are covered, but so are employees who may be only temporarily in Washington if they work more than 820 hours in Washington. The statute is also one of the first to address 鈥渧irtual workers鈥� (i.e., those who may not report to work at an office location but commute from a home office or community workspace) and makes them eligible for benefits if: (a) the employer鈥檚 base of operations is in Washington, or (b) the 鈥減lace where the services are directed鈥� is in Washington, or (c) the employer is not based in Washington, and the services are not directed to Washington, but the worker lives in Washington. This is important for employers, like many in the Portland-metro area, with employees who occasionally work from home on the Washington side of the Columbia River and others with remote work arrangements.

3. Premiums need to be withheld as of the very first payroll in January 2019.

For 2019, the total premium contribution for both types of leave is 0.4 percent of each employee鈥檚 gross wages. The total premium is allocated between the two types of paid leave benefits as follows: 1/3 to paid family leave funded entirely by employee contributions and the other 2/3 to medical leave for which the employee is required to contribute 45 percent of the premium. That means the employee鈥檚 overall share of the premiums, which must be deducted from their pay unless the employer voluntarily opts to pay all or some of it on their behalf, is 63 percent of the total premium.

Employers must then pay no less than the mandated employer-paid portion (37 percent) at a minimum unless they have fewer than 50 employees, in which case they are permitted but not obligated to contribute toward the employer share.

Be aware: the premiums have to be withheld each pay period (they can鈥檛 be made up later, according to the rules currently proposed) and remitted to ESD on a quarterly basis starting in April 2019. Detailed information on calculating premiums, including a calculator for estimating premiums, is available at www.paidleave.wa.gov/employers.

Be sure to stay tuned for more information expected in early 2019 from the ESD (visit www.paidleave.wa.gov) about how benefits will be administered and about rules around notice and employee eligibility.

Amy Robinson is a Jordan Ramis PC shareholder practicing in its employment practice group. She represents clients in Oregon and Washington. Contact her at 503-598-7070 or [email protected]. Information in this article should not be considered legal advice for specific situations. Specific questions should be directed to qualified legal counsel.