OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — Washington state’s paid family leave program could hit a deficit as early as March and there are concerns about long-term solvency following a significant increase in demand for the benefit that launched in 2020.

Under the law, eligible workers receive 12 weeks paid time off for the birth or adoption of a child or for a serious medical condition of the worker or the worker’s family member, or 16 weeks for a combination of both. An additional two weeks may be used if there is a serious health condition with a pregnancy.

Weekly benefits are calculated based on a percentage of the employee’s wages and the state’s weekly average wage — which is now $1,475 — though the weekly amount paid out is capped at $1,327.

The program saw benefit delays when it first went live in January 2020, right before the pandemic hit. In the first six weeks, more than triple the amount of people expected applied for the program, and the demand has continued to be high.

Since the start of the program, the Employment Security Department has processed more than 365,000 individual applications and has paid out more than 2.2 million weekly claims.

When premiums started in 2019, 0.4% of workers’ wages funded the program, with 63% paid by employees and 37% paid by employers. But that rate increased on Jan. 1 to .6% of workers’ wages, and employees’ share increased to 73%, with the remainder paid by employers. That's because of a provision in the law that dictates how much of the rate...

Read Full Story: https://www.thehour.com/news/article/Washington-s-paid-family-leave-program-r...