Preserving federal standards for family leave in Washington State

The Washington Family and Medical Leave Act of 2006 does not provide new rights, but ensures the continuation of protections workers and their families in Washington state now have under the federal FMLA.

The Act guarantees: up to 12 weeks of unpaid time off to care for a new child, seriously ill child, spouse, or parent, or the worker's own serious health condition; job protection while on leave; availability to employees who have worked a full year and for at least 1250 hours (in companies with 50 or more workers or in public jobs); and preserves the definition of serious health condition and terms for use of intermittent leave currently in U.S. Department of Labor rules.

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Testimony

Dr. D. Jay Fathi, Chief of the Department of Family Medicine at Swedish Medical Center

Steve Olson, Executive Director, Olympia Child Care Center

Marilyn Watkins, Ph.D., Policy Director, Economic Opportunity Institute, to House Commerce and Labor Committee

Legislation

2006

House Bill 1609 »

Senate Bill 2392 »

Your Rights

Note: Because state law closely resembles the federal FMLA, the U.S. Department of Labor enforces worker rights under this act.

D.O.L. Website »