Most Washington workers have been able to collect paid family and medical leave benefits since 2020, no matter how small their employer. Until 2026, though, the promise that your job would wait for you applied only at companies with 50 or more employees, which left many warehouse, construction and office workers at smaller businesses exposed. They could take paid time off for a new baby or a surgery and still return to discover that someone else had taken over their position. A 2025 amendment to state law closes much of that gap, and the coverage continues expanding through 2028.
Who qualifies for job protection now
Under the state’s job restoration statute, your right to return now depends on two conditions. First, your employer must have a large enough workforce:
- 25 or more employees during 2026
- 15 or more employees starting in 2027
- 8 or more employees from 2028 on
Second, you must have started working there at least 180 calendar days before your leave begins. Because the law no longer requires a minimum number of hours, part-time employees who reach the 180-day mark can qualify as well.
What your employer owes you when you return
When protection applies, your employer must restore you to the same job or an equivalent one with equivalent pay, benefits and other terms of employment. Taking leave also cannot cost you benefits you accumulated before it started. Starting in 2026, your employer must continue your health coverage throughout protected leave, although you remain responsible for your usual share of the premium.
These protections have limits. They generally end if you do not report back on the first scheduled workday after your leave ends, and they also expire after 16 typical workweeks of leave within a 52-week period, or 18 weeks when a pregnancy-related condition leaves you unable to work. An employer may refuse to reinstate a salaried employee among its highest-paid 10% in the area if reinstatement would cause the business severe economic harm.
Steps to take if your return goes wrong
Problems often surface in quieter ways than an outright firing. A supervisor may give your shifts to someone else, transfer you to a lower-paying role or reduce your hours after you return. Washington makes it unlawful for an employer to interfere with paid leave or to punish a worker for using it. You can file a complaint with the Employment Security Department within three years, or you can take your claim to court instead. Choosing a lawsuit means giving up the agency complaint, so it helps to consult a lawyer before deciding which path makes more sense.
Keep copies of your leave approval, your work schedules from before and after your leave and any messages about your return, because those records often reveal whether your job truly waited for you. Understanding how retaliation claims work in Washington can also help you distinguish a legitimate business decision from a penalty for taking leave.