The purpose of the Washington State Family Leave Act (FLA) is to allow employees to leave from work for certain medical reasons, for the birth or placement of a child, and for the care of certain family members (including registered domestic partners) who have a serious health condition. The law builds on the existing similar benefits currently available under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) in case the federal law changes. It also provides additional benefits to women who are pregnant and to registered domestic partners.
All employers who employ 50 or more employees for at least 20 workweeks annually within 75 miles of the employee’s worksite must provide FLA leave to their employees. The workweeks can be in the current or preceding calendar year.
An employee must work for the employer for at least 12 months, although those months need not be consecutive, before the employee is entitled to leave under the FLA. In addition, the employee must have worked for at least 1,250 hours during the past 12 months before the leave is to commence.
An employee is entitled to a total of 12 weeks of leave during any 12-month period for one or more of the following:
- Leave for the birth of a child of the employee and in order to care for the child;
- Leave for placement of a child with the employee for adoption or foster care;
- Leave to care for an employee’s family member who has a serious health condition;
- Leave because the employee has a serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform the functions of his or her position.
It is illegal to deny Family & Medical Leave to an eligible employee or to discriminate or retaliate against an employee for requesting or taking Family & Medical leave. If an employer does not meet these obligations, SGB lawyers can help our clients defend their legal rights.
Contact SGB Family & Medical Leave Lawyers – We’re ready to fight for your rights.
If your employer has denied you the full benefits of the Family & Medical Leave laws, SGB is here to help. There is no charge for us to review your potential claim. Employment cases are either accepted on contingency or billed hourly. We discuss our fees upfront with our clients. Contact us today or fill out our intake questionnaire.
