Unlawful acts complaints 

Unlawful acts complaints

If you believe that your employer has discriminated against you or interfered with your ability to take leave, you can file an Unlawful Acts Complaint with the Employment Security Department (ESD). This applies to both Washington State administered Paid Leave plans and employer administered voluntary plans approved by ESD. 

Instead of filing an unlawful act complaint, you may also take legal action against your employer in court. If you decide to go to court, you give up your right to file an unlawful act complaint with ESD. You should talk with an attorney if you have questions about taking legal action against your employer. 

What is an Unlawful Act? 

An unlawful act is when an employer: 

  • Interferes with, restrains, or denies an employee from using Paid Leave. 
  • Discharges (fires) or discriminates against an employee for applying for or receiving benefits. 
  • Discriminates against an employee for filing a complaint or engaging in proceedings related to Paid Leave. 

The laws that apply are RCW 50A.40 and WAC 192-570-020-192-570-050. 

How to file an Unlawful Acts complaint  

If you want to file an Unlawful Acts complaint you will need to do the following: 

  1. Fill out and print the Unlawful Acts complaint form 
    • If you run out of room on the form, please include additional details on a separate sheet. 
    • Make copies of all documents that are related to your complaint such as emails, letters and text messages. 
    • Note: We can only review information that is related to the alleged Paid Family and Medical Leave violation.
  2. When you have your completed form and all your supporting documentation ready, you can submit them by fax or by mail. 
  • Fax: 833-525-2273 
  • Mail:
    Employment Security Department
    Paid Family and Medical Leave 
    P.O. Box 19020  
    Olympia, WA 98507-0020 

To request information about your complaint contact: ESDGPLCDAudit@esd.wa.gov

Timeline for filing a complaint 

Complaints may not be investigated if the alleged violation occurred more than three years before the date you filed the complaint.  

Example: An alleged violation occurred on Feb. 25, 2022, and a complaint is filed on Feb. 26, 2025. The department may not investigate the complaint because it was filed more than 3 years after the violation.   

Authorized Representative form 

If you would like to have someone speak on your behalf, an Authorized Representative form will need to be completed before an investigator can speak to an any other person on your behalf.  

Please contact the Investigations Team at ESDGPLCDAudit@esd.wa.gov to request an Authorization form. 

After you file a complaint 

Investigation 

The time it takes to investigate your complaint can vary depending on the circumstances. Once your complaint is assigned to an investigator, they will reach out to you. You might be asked to provide more details, and the investigator may also contact your employer to gather information. The investigator will decide whether your employer treated your use of paid leave unfairly – for example, by using it against you in decisions about hiring, promotions, or discipline. 

Decision 

When the investigation is finished, the department will send a determination letter explaining the outcome to you, your employer, and anyone else involved.  

If the department finds that your rights were violated, they may require your employer to compensate you. This could include lost wages and benefits, or if no wages were lost, reimbursement for actual costs you had to pay because of the violation, up to a legal limit, plus interest. 

If you or your employer disagrees with the decision, you can appeal and request an administrative hearing within 30 days. The determination letter you receive will explain how to file an appeal.  contact: ESDGPLCDAudit@esd.wa.gov

Withdrawing your complaint 

You can elect to withdraw your complaint in writing within 10 days from the date we acknowledge the complaint has been received.  

If you work through the issue with your employer after filing a complaint you can also withdraw the complaint. In this case you will need to provide a letter to the department stating that the issue has been resolved between you and your employer. This letter must be signed by you and your employer, then sent to the department.  

Unlawful Acts complaint impact on benefits 

An open investigation does not prevent you from continuing to submit weekly claims or request a redetermination on your benefit application.  

Our Customer Care Team may be contacted at 833-717-2273 with questions about the status of a paid leave benefit application, weekly claims, or redetermination request.  

For other types of protected leave laws, please see Labor and Industries. 

Job protection  

If you work for a company that employs more than 50 people in Washington, and you have worked there for at least a year and for at least 1,250 hours in the year before taking leave, your job is likely protected. But your employer can deny job restoration if: 

If you do not have job protection with Paid Family and Medical Leave there may be other local, state or federal laws that offer job protection or restoration for you. You will need to continue to follow the leave notification policies of your employer. 

Beginning January 1, 2026, your job is likely protected if: 

  1. You work for an employer with more than 25 people in Washington, and  
  1. Began working for your employer 180 calendar days before taking leave.  

You can find more details on job protection at paidleave.wa.gov/job-protection