New parents

All parents are eligible! Moms, dads, non-birth parents and guardians are eligible for paid family leave to bond with a child coming into their home through birth, adoption or foster placement. You can take leave within the first 12 months of the child’s date of birth, when the adoption was finalized, or the date the child was first placed in the home.

A parent who gives birth may also take medical leave during pregnancy or to recover after the baby is born.

During pregnancy, you can apply for medical leave with signed documentation from your health care provider. Keep in mind that leave used during your pregnancy is drawn from the same bank of hours as the medical leave you’ll use to recover from birth, so you’ll want to plan ahead, so you have enough hours to cover both.

Once your baby is born, you’ll either extend your medical leave or submit another application if you experienced an incapacity or serious health condition related to your birth but not your pregnancy.

You’ll also need to submit another application for family leave to bond with your baby.

All parents can receive up to 12 weeks of bonding leave in the first year after your child’s birth, placement or adoption. Each parent is entitled to their 12 weeks of bonding leave, even if they work for the same employer.

If you gave or are giving birth, you can take up to 16 weeks of combined medical and family leave. You will need to submit two applications: one for medical leave and another for bonding leave. If you experience incapacity or another serious health condition related to your pregnancy or birth (like a C-section), you may also qualify for an additional two weeks of medical leave for a total of 18 weeks.

You may also use family leave for the seven days following the loss of a child if you meet one of these requirements:

• You would have qualified for prenatal or postnatal medical leave for the birth of your child. RCW 50A.05.010(10)(d),
• You would have qualified for family leave to bond with your child during the first 12 months after birth,
• You had a child under the age of 18 placed in your home and qualified for bonding leave within the first 12 months of placement, or
• You adopted a child under the age of 18 and qualified for bonding leave within the first 12 months of the adoption.

More to know about family leave for the loss of a child.

• The waiting week does not apply to this type of leave.
• You must meet one of the above requirements, but you do not have to be a birth parent. It does not include leave for the death of any other family member.
• Any death of a child occurring prior to the law going into effect (June 9, 2022) is not eligible.
• You will need to provide us with the date of death and documentation or complete an attestation to qualify for this leave. You can call us or send a secure message to let us know, and we may request additional documentation or information.
• This is a form of family leave and not another type of leave, so it will use hours from your available duration of leave in a claim year.

The postnatal period is the first six weeks after a Paid Leave customer gives birth to a child.
• Any leave taken by the birthing parent in the “postnatal period” will be designated as medical leave unless they specify otherwise.
• Leave taken in the postnatal period does not have a waiting week. Leave taken before the birth of a child does have a waiting week.
• You will need to submit proof of birth documentation with your application. This could be our medical certification or other paperwork that shows the child’s date of birth.

We cannot approve leave for the postnatal period before the birth of a child. If you need to start leave before you give birth, such as for incapacity related to pregnancy, you will need to submit an application for medical leave along with a medical certification, and you will have a waiting week.