Paid Family & Medical Leave premium rate increases to 1.13% in 2026

OLYMPIA – Benefits from Washington’s Paid Family & Medical Leave program are a vital source of support for Washington workers. More than 218,000 individuals have claimed Paid Leave benefits in 2025 thus far, totaling more than $1.76 billion dollars.  

Starting Jan. 1, 2026:  

• The premium rate will be 1.13%. The rate for 2025 is 0.92%.  

• Employers will pay 28.57% of the total premium and employees will pay 71.43%.  

The program is funded by premiums collected from employees and employers in Washington state. By law, the Employment Security Department (ESD) recalculates the premium rate annually in October based on program usage and premiums collected the previous year.  

Businesses classified by ESD as having fewer than 50 employees are not required to pay the employer portion of the premium, unless they opt to do so. However, they must still collect the employee premium or pay employees’ premiums on their behalf.  

More information can be found at paidleave.wa.gov/updates.