Demand for Washington’s paid family leave benefits is overwhelming staff, agency says

Washington’s Paid Family and Medical Leave program keeps growing, but its staff and resources do not, leaving applicants with delays for benefits and long waits for customer service.

The Employment Security Department wants to hire 98 new employees over the next two years in response. It’s a roughly $23 million ask. The new employees wouldl help answer phones, process applications and assist employers with paperwork and questions.

“Despite recent staffing increases, the program is not adequately staffed based on current application volumes,” department officials wrote in a budget request to the governor.

Funding for new employees would come from the money the program raises, but the department needs approval from the governor and the Legislature to use their funds in this way. They’ve submitted their request to the governor, who could include it in his proposed budget for the next two years. The Legislature has the final say on a budget for state programs through June 2027.

It’s not the department’s first hiring push for the program. Last year, the agency asked for authority to bring on additional employees to help process the growing number of claims.

Under the state’s paid family leave program, eligible workers can receive paid time off if they have a serious health condition, if they’re caring for a family member or if they have a new child. It’s paid for by a tax that workers and employers share.

The program started paying out benefits in 2020, but has experienced financial and staffing challenges ever since, mostly due to its high popularity.

Since it launched, the program’s paid out more than $5 billion to more than 510,000 employees and processed more than 1 million applications, but the department says it anticipates 35% growth over the next two years and needs additional resources to ensure timely payments and adequate support for employers.

In the program’s first year, 112,737 people were approved for benefits, according to data from the Employment Security Department. Since then, the number of people receiving benefits nearly doubled to 210,268 people in 2023.

At a July event celebrating five years of the program, Employment Security Department Commissioner Cami Feek said there was still “plenty of work to do to ensure all working Washingtonians are aware of the program and can access the benefits they’ve earned.”

Sixty of the department’s proposed new hires would be on teams who process applications and handle phone calls and customer support. Another 13 would be on a team focused solely on helping employers understand and administer the program for their workers. The rest would be split between administrative duties, training and research.

“It’s not magic, right?” said Joe Kendo, chief of staff for the Washington State Labor Council and member of the program’s advisory committee. “You need the humans and the technology to meet the demand. And as more and more people learn about the benefits and services available in the program, they’re going to want it.”

New report highlights need for more staff

A September report from the department showed that the number of applications will continue to grow through 2027. From July 2022 to June 2023, there were 245,795 applications. That jumped 14% to 280,068 the following year. Over the next year, the department is expecting another 16% jump.

But, “actual applications continue to outpace expectations,” according to the report.

Although application processing times have improved in the last year, the September report found additional staff will be necessary to maintain the increasing volume of applications and reduce hold times for customers on the phone.

Call wait times remain high, increasing from around 8 minutes to nearly 29 minutes over the course of 2023.

Metrics show “little sign of improvement” as staff have been prioritizing processing applications over handling phone calls, a move that is not sustainable, according to the department’s budget request.

Kendo said the new hires will help with the rising demand, and he hopes the governor includes the request in his proposed budget.

“We of course would like to see more so we’re not just keeping pace but also pulling down that wait time,” he said.

Over the next two years, the department’s other priorities for the program include allowing tribes to take part if they choose, streamlining a process for making sure people aren’t receiving both unemployment insurance and paid family leave in the same week, and reporting the county and legislative district of those receiving the benefits.