Handling Illinois paid leave and Washington PFML in an employee handbook template

What to take away

Illinois paid leave (820 ILCS 192) took effect January 1, 2024. Employees accrue 1 hour of paid leave for every 40 hours worked, up to 40 hours in a 12-month period.
Washington paid family and medical leave (RCW 50A) is a state insurance program. The 2024 total premium was about 0.74% of wages, split roughly 28.57% employer and 71.43% employee, and collected only up to the Social Security wage base.
FMLA and each state program run at the same time when the reason qualifies under both, so the handbook needs one concurrency paragraph covering both states.
Every state subsection carries its own heading, its own figures, and a version number with an effective date.

Split the leave chapter into three layers

A standard employee handbook treats leave as one chapter. That structure holds in a single state and breaks in two.

The federal layer states FMLA eligibility, the 12-week entitlement, notice and certification. Build it from the Family and Medical Leave Act | U.S. Department of Labor rules rather than from an older handbook.

The state layer states accrual, use, notice and payout for one state only. The company layer holds what you add, such as a top-up payment or a longer leave period.

Keep the same subsection order in every edition. A reader in Chicago should not have to read Washington rules to find their own.

Settle the heading convention once. Policy templates format weighs numbered sections against plain subheads and says which survives repeated revision.

Illinois paid leave: what the subsection must state

Illinois separates paid leave for any reason from a sick-only bank. Most national templates carry only the second.

Illinois paid leave

Accrual rate: 1 hour for every 40 hours worked, up to 40 hours per 12-month period
Front-loading: 40 hours granted at the start of the period instead of accruing
First use: After 90 days of employment
Carryover: Up to 40 hours into the next period
Permitted use: Any reason, with no documentation required
Payout at separation: Not required by the Act unless your policy or a contract provides it

Put the accrual rate in the handbook, not only in payroll software. Employees check the number.

"Paid leave for all workers accrues at 1 hour for each 40 hours worked, up to 40 hours per 12-month period. It may be used after 90 days of employment, for any reason, and up to 40 unused hours carry over."

Illinois Paid Leave Subsection

State accrual rate and frequency
When balance becomes usable
Carryover rules at year end
Payout at separation
Time usable for any reason
No doctor's note for general bank

The Act asks for 7 days of notice when the need is foreseeable, and as soon as practicable when it is not. Do not demand a doctor's note for this bank.

Say whether the bank runs alongside your paid time off or replaces part of it, and which balance is drawn first. Before publishing, check the subsection against a policy templates checklist so the definition, the owner and the review date are all present.

Washington paid family and medical leave: premiums, cap and duty

Washington pays the benefit. The employer does not, though it collects the premium. The program has run since January 1, 2020 under RCW 50A.

Washington paid family and medical leave

Premium split: About 28.57% employer, 71.43% employee
Total rate, 2024: About 0.74% of wages
Total rate, 2025: About 0.92% of wages
Wage base, 2024: $168,600
Wage base, 2025: $176,100

Employers with fewer than 50 employees do not pay the employer share. Job protection after leave applies to employers with 50 or more.

State whether you top up the state benefit. If you do, give the formula, the cap and the duration. If you do not, one sentence saying so prevents surprises.

Example: a Seattle request that qualifies under two laws

An employee in Seattle needs six weeks for a serious health condition. The reason qualifies under FMLA and under Washington PFML, so both run together.

Pay comes from the state program plus any company top-up. Job protection comes from both laws, and the employee keeps the greater right where they differ.

"Leave that qualifies under both the FMLA and a state program runs concurrently. Where the two differ, the employee receives the greater protection."

Four weeks of bonding produces the same answer. Never write that state leave replaces FMLA, or that employees must exhaust paid time off first.

Remote work blocks a single-state template lacks

A policy templates guide separates policy from procedure, which keeps these blocks short enough to be read.

Reimbursementwhat the company pays for home internet and equipment, the cap, and how claims are submitted.
Overtime approvalwho approves it in advance, and the fact that unapproved hours are still paid.
Rest breaksthe same meal and rest rules off site, recorded the same way.
Leave schedulinghow a remote employee requests time off, and who covers the work.

Version control and the release sequence

One controlling handbook with state appendices beats a handbook per state. Separate editions let the concurrency paragraph drift.

Release in this order:

Freeze the current handbook, copy it to a draft, and assign the next version number.
Rewrite the Illinois and Washington subsections plus the concurrency paragraph.
Have counsel licensed in each state review that state's subsection.
Publish, collect signed acknowledgements, and diary a review date before the next legislative session.

Release the Handbook Revision