Delays Increase In Washington’s Paid Family Leave Program

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) – More delays are occurring in Washington state’s popular new paid family leave program.

Officials are saying it’s not taking up to 10 weeks to process because of the high number of people applying for the program.

In the first six weeks since the the program went live last month, more than 30,000 people have applied, more than triple the amount that was projected in that same time frame.

Officials are hoping to have processing times down to two weeks by June.

Under the law, eligible workers receive 12 weeks paid time off for the birth or adoption of a child or for a serious medical condition of the worker or the worker’s family member, or 16 weeks for a combination of both.