[The Center Square] – This month, a number of new state laws took effect in Washington that impact both employers and their employees. Other recently passed laws impacting employment kick in Jan. 1, 2026.
The Association of Washington Business held webinars last week to help employers navigate the complicated changes.
Seattle employment law compliance attorney Deidra Nguyen led the webinar.
“It was a bit of a mixed bag and let’s be honest, [there was] a fair bit of bad news on behalf of employers,” she said in opening remarks. “From the employer perspective, there will be a number of challenging developments that are going to make your life a little bit more difficult.”
She started with changes to Washington’s Paid Family Medical Leave Act.
House Bill 1213 expands job protection rights, reduces the minimum increment of time off from eight consecutive hours to four consecutive hours, and broadens health insurance coverage requirements, among other miscellaneous changes.
“It’s being phased in and will soon impact smaller employers,” Nguyen said. “Starting Jan 1, 2026, the threshold is changing for the number of hours that employees have to work.”
There is one good change for employers, according to Nguyen
“If an employee is taking FMLA [Family Medical Leave Act] and they’re eligible for PFML but they didn’t apply for and receive PFML, there’s a process where we get to say, ‘Hey, employee, it’s your choice whether to file or not but choices have consequences and if you’re not...
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