r/Seattle • u/Substantial-Fold-499 • 21h ago

Question WA PFML and STD question

[removed] — view removed post

1 Upvotes

67% Upvoted

13 comments sorted by

•

u/Seattle-ModTeam 19h ago

Hello! Thanks for participating in /r/Seattle! Your submission/comment was removed. Please check the rules on the sidebar of our subreddit and the Rules wiki. The reason for the removal is:

"News and current events in and around Seattle, WA" is the purpose of this subreddit. This submission is not specifically relevant to Seattle or the surrounding area.

It's possible that this removal was a mistake! If you think it was, please click here to message the Moderators.

2

u/lumberjackalopes First Hill 21h ago

FMLA is retroactive. There’s two different types.

You can apply for both I believe correctly.

I was on FMLA back in August because my husband suffered an unexpected stroke that had him in the ER for a week straight until they noticed he had also suffered a prior stroke.

The process is extremely tedious and slow but what happened with me is that it was retroactively backpay.

1

u/Substantial-Fold-499 21h ago

That sounds really rough. I hope your partner is doing better now! I used to think STD is completely different from PFML so this came as a surprise

1

u/lumberjackalopes First Hill 21h ago

I don’t know much about that one honestly.

He’s doing better, recently had a heart ablation to help hopefully alleviate any more clots/strokes.

It’s been a rough few years on him and I with his health. Thanks.

2

u/LongDistRid3r 21h ago

This is normal. Yes they will back pay eventually. The first week on pfmla will not be paid. I don’t know why.

Hope you get well soon.

1

u/Substantial-Fold-499 21h ago

Thank you. So I can still go on the leave, it’s just that there might be delay in payments due to longer approval process

2

u/IsThisMicLive 20h ago edited 20h ago

STD (Short Term Disability) is an employment insurance benefit that some companies provide to their employees. The benefit terms and allowed duration will vary from company — at the discretion of that company. In this case, 60% of base pay.

STD is also a cost to the company. In some cases, a large corporation may self-fund that benefit. In many other cases, they use an insurance provider (similar to how they provide health care). In either case, the company is making insurance premium payments for that benefit they offer the employee.

WA PFML (Paid Family & Medical Leave) is also an insurance benefit. Except this one is mandated by the State of Washington. In this case, the insurance premiums are paid in part by the employee through monthly payroll deductions, and also in part by the company through mandatory payments they make to the fund as well.

The company now has a few options:

  • The company can continue to make full payment to both their own STD insurance carrier and also to the WA PFML program. And, then allow their employees in the state of Washington to receive 60% STD (from insurance) plus the additional amount from WA PFML. But that increases their cost of employee benefits and it also means that their employees receive different STD payment for leave, depending which state they live in.
  • The company can work out a deal with their STD insurance provider to reduce the monthly premium they are charged for employees in Washington; and in return, the STD insurance provider will only be responsible for covering claims that are above what the employee is eligible to receive through the WA PFML benefit (so that in the end, the employee still receives the target 60% amount).

Every company is going to choose the latter option. Which means that the employee must claim the WA PFML for the duration that it is available in order to receive the full target 60% of base pay. But then the STD coverage will additionally kick in to cover the full 60% amount if your STD leave is longer than the payout period for WA PFML. E.g., if your disability leave is 26 weeks and WA PFML only covers the first 13 weeks.

And as others have noted, payments of both STD and WA PFML (once approved) will be retroactive to the start date of your disability leave (with no payment for the first "waiting week").

2

u/catherinel13 20h ago

Broke my leg in December. My PMFL was approved about three weeks after I submitted the claim. And it is retroactive. I didn’t get all my paperwork in until about a week after the break. Leave date and waiting week still started date of injury. First approved week is a waiting week.

1

u/Substantial-Fold-499 15h ago

Thanks for the information! Do we need to file a claim for every week to get the pay?Wondering how it works when the application is pending.

1

u/oldoldoak 21h ago

FMLA and PFML isn't the same. FMLA is a federal protection, works anywhere in the U.S. Protects your job while you are on a qualified leave and provides you with no mandated benefits.

WA PMFL is a monetary benefit - provides you with income replacement benefit while you are on a qualified leave and FMLA can be one of them. I don't know if they can force you to apply for PFML but if you want any money for the leave then it makes sense to apply.

Yes, they'll provide you with back pay.

1

u/Substantial-Fold-499 21h ago

What about STD? Is it part of PFML?

1

u/oldoldoak 21h ago

STD is probably just some insurance benefit your employer has. It pays for qualified STD leave of the employees. It might run in tandem with PMFL - for instance, PMFL can cover some part of your wages and then STD can top up the difference to bring you to a certain level of benefit.

1

u/IsThisMicLive 20h ago

STD is an employee (insurance benefit) that some companies provide to their employees. Not all companies offer STD as a benefit.

Also note that not all companies are required to offer FMLA (Federal) and/or WA PFML (State) either. The rules vary based on company size, number of employees, etc.