Cash crunch persists for WA's paid family leave program

Washington’s Paid Family and Medical Leave program has a popularity problem.

More people are applying for its benefits, but the state is running short of money to pay for them.

The program, launched in 2020, allows people to take paid time off from work if they have a serious health condition, if they’re caring for family members, or if they have a new child. A tax that workers and employers each pay a share of covers the program’s cost.

In 2022, a financial analysis showed that the program would run a deficit by the end of that year without more state funding or a premium increase. At the time, the tax rate was 0.6%. The state upped the rate to 0.8% in 2023. But it lowered it again in January this year to 0.74% – in part because of $200 million the Legislature shifted into the program.

https://washingtonstatestandard.com/2024/05/15/cash-crunch-persists-for-was-paid-family-leave-program/