Elizabeth New (Hovde) points out that many workers don’t benefit at all from the paid family and medical leave fund and are just going without wages they could be using for other life needs
Elizabeth New (Hovde)
Washington Policy Center
“The paid family and medical leave (PFML) premium rate will increase to 0.92% in 2025,” Emily Makings with the Washington Research Council reported Wednesday afternoon. “The Employment Security Department (ESD) made the announcement during today’s meeting of the PFML Advisory Committee.”
The 2025 rate is significantly higher than the rate that accompanied the program when it first began in 2019 at .40%. The fund is not paying its way as Washingtonians were sold.
In addition to a more than doubling of the tax rate, PFML has already received a general fund bailout of $200 million. Short-term deficits in the PFML account beginning early in 2025 and continuing intermittently through 2026 could require another bailout. Lawmakers have also questioned if they set the rate too low for this “if you build it they will come” taxpayer-financed benefit.
Employers and employees pay into this fund that allows workers taxpayer-paid time off with new babies or time off for people with medical needs of their own or others. Employers pay 28.57% of the total PFML tax and employees pay 71.43%. In 2025, employers will pay 28.48% of the premium and employees will pay 71.52%, writes Makings.
Many workers, of course, don’t benefit at all from this fund and are just going without wages they could be using for other life needs. My research has also shown that PFML is no safety net. Middle- and upper-income wage earners use the program more than those with lower incomes. In fact, people making $60 or more an hour used the fund about twice as much as the lowest wage-earners.
Elizabeth New (Hovde) is a policy analyst and the director of the Centers for Health Care and Worker Rights at the Washington Policy Center. She is a Clark County resident.
Also read:
- Opinion: Is the cheap fast-food burger a thing of the past?
Mark Harmsworth argues that rising minimum wages and B&O tax increases are driving higher food prices and squeezing low-income consumers and small businesses across Washington state. - Opinion: Blood on the highways fails to move Ferguson and Kotek
Lars Larson criticizes Washington and Oregon governors over licensing policies he says are linked to deadly truck crashes and ongoing highway safety risks. - Letter: ‘When we curtail one group’s rights we leave open the door to losing our rights too’
Camas resident Anthony Teso argues that constitutional protections apply to immigrants and warns that limiting one group’s rights risks undermining everyone’s civil liberties. - POLL: Do you agree that enforcing U.S. immigration laws is not an act of racism?
This poll asks readers whether enforcing U.S. immigration laws should be viewed as a lawful responsibility rather than an act of racism. - Opinion: Should taxpayers walkout?
Lars Larson argues that student walkouts and absenteeism in public schools raise questions about accountability for taxpayers who fund the education system.
