New Paycheck Deductions Start Next Week Here In Washington State

Employers and employees in Washington state will start paying into a new paid family leave program next week, and benefits from the program will begin in 2020.

Starting Tuesday (Jan. 1), premiums of 0.4 percent of wages will be collected. Sixty-three percent will be paid by employees, 37 percent will be paid by employers in this new program.

According to the Employment Security Department, employees making $50,000 a year would pay about $2.44 a week, while their employer would pay about $1.41 a week, for a weekly benefit of about $778.

Starting in 2020, eligible workers will receive 12 weeks paid time off for the birth or adoption of a child or for serious medical condition of the worker or the worker's family member, or 16 weeks for a combination of both.