On January 1, 2018 the new Paid Sick Leave law goes into effect for Washington State. Please see some highlights from this Policy below:
Paid Sick Leave Requirements
Accrual
- Most employees must accrue paid sick leave at a minimum rate of 1 hour of paid sick leave for every 40 hours worked. This includes part-time and seasonal workers.
- Paid sick leave must be paid to employees at their normal hourly compensation.
- Employees are entitled to use accrued paid sick leave beginning on the 90th calendar day after the start of their employment.
- Unused paid sick leave of 40 hours or less must be carried over to the following year.
- Employers are allowed to provide employees with more generous carry over and accrual policies.
Usage
Employees may use paid sick leave:
- To care for themselves or their family members.
- When the employees’ workplace or their child's school or place of care has been closed by a public official for any health-related reason.
- For absences that qualify for leave under the state's Domestic Violence Leave Act.
Employers may allow employees to use paid sick leave for additional purposes.
Rulemaking for paid sick leave
The Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) has been developing rules to explain and enforce the new requirements.
These rules include:
- Procedures for employers to notify their employee(s).
- Recordkeeping and reporting requirements regarding paid sick leave.
- Processes to protect employees from retaliation for the lawful use of paid sick leave.
The Paid Sick Leave Rules (50 KB PDF) were finalized in October 2017. Rulemaking for enforcement of the new law is underway.
Learn more about paid sick leave rulemaking (lni.us.engagementhq.com).
Paid family and medical leave
The Washington State Legislature passed the paid family and medical leave bill in the 2017 legislative session. This new law will be administered by the Washington State Employment Security Department.
Beginning in 2019, the program will be funded by premiums paid by employers and employees. In 2020, it will allow workers to apply for up to 12 weeks of paid leave for personal illness, pregnancy or illness of family members.
For more information, see Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) (www.esd.wa.gov).
Please use the steps below to setup the Washington Paid Sick Leave Accrual inside PayClock Online.
1. Navigate to Setup- Benefit Time Accruals.
2. Create a New policy or edit your existing Sick Time policy.
3. Select the Settings tab:
- Under Benefit Time Pay Code, select the appropriate Sick time pay code.
- Under Carry Over Benefit Time, select Hire Date.
- Under Starting Balance ,choose the appropriate option.
4. Select the Schedule tab:
- Set the Accrue Hours On this Schedule, Day of Week to Accrue, and Time Zone For Schedule, per your company's accrual policy.
5. Select the Minimum Accruals tab:
- Under Enforce Minimum Accrued Time select, Require Minimum Accrued Time.
- Under Worked Hours Start From, select 01/01/2018 Mon.
- Under Minimum Hours to Accrue, set to 001:00.
- Under Each Total hours Worked, set to 040:00.
6. Select the Accrual Levels tab:
- Under Starts After, set to 0 years
- Under Hours, leave it set to 0.000
- Under Maximum Balance, set per your company's accrual policy
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