Paid Family Leave approved but employer now denying my return - hours qualification conflict?

There's actually a difference between qualifying for PFL benefits and qualifying for job protection. For PFL benefits, you need 820 hours worked in the qualifying period. But for job protection under WA's law, you need to have worked for your employer for 12 months AND worked 1,250 hours in the 12 months before leave. So it's possible to qualify for benefits but not job protection, depending on your specific work history. Did you work for this employer for at least a year before your leave started?

I've been through this exact situation last year! The confusion is because WA Paid Family Leave and FMLA (job protection) have different requirements. Even though the state approved your benefits, your employer can still deny your job protection if you didn't meet the 1,250 hours requirement under FMLA. What you need to do immediately is request in writing their calculation of your hours worked. Ask them to provide specific pay periods and hour totals. Sometimes HR makes mistakes, and you might actually qualify. If they refuse to provide this information or you think their calculation is wrong, contact the WA Department of Labor & Industries right away.

had the same thing back in NOvember. my employer said i didnt have enuff hours but i KNOW i did. turns out the managers werent inputting my overtime hours correctly in the payroll system!!! make sure u check all ur paystubs and add up ALL hours urself. dont trust their math lol

Not to scare you but my sister just went through this and her employer was actually right. She thought she had enough hours but didn't realize that PTO and sick leave hours DON'T count toward the 1,250 FMLA hours requirement. Only actual worked hours count. Check if you're including those in your calculations.

You might be totally out of luck trying to get your job back if you truly didn't meet the hours requirement, but don't give up right away! I recommnd calling ESD directly to ask about your specific situation. They can tell you exactly what your options are with both the Paid Family Leave benefits and possible job protection issues. I spent WEEKS trying to reach someone at ESD about a similar issue and kept getting disconnected. Finally used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to an ESD agent in about 20 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ?si=26TzE_zGms-DODN3. The agent was super helpful and explained exactly what my rights were.

Even if you don't qualify for job protection under FMLA or WA FMLA, you should check if your company has more than 15 employees. If they do, you might be protected under the Washington Law Against Discrimination (WLAD) which requires reasonable accommodations for pregnancy and childbirth conditions. They'd need to show an "undue hardship" to deny your return. This is something people don't often know about!

Can we just talk about how RIDICULOUS it is that they make these requirements so confusing?? Different hour requirements for benefits vs. job protection, complicated lookback periods, etc. The system is DESIGNED to make people mess up and lose their jobs. I'm so angry on your behalf. This is exactly why people are afraid to take parental leave - the rules are impossible to understand and employers take advantage of the confusion to get rid of people.

One more important thing - if you have a unionized workplace, check your collective bargaining agreement. Some unions negotiate better leave protections than the federal/state minimums. Also, if you believe there was discrimination involved (like if other employees with similar work hours were treated differently), you might have additional legal options.

update us on what happens!! i hate how employers try to screw over new moms. my coworker's baby was in NICU and her boss tried to make her come back early. she raised hell and they backed down. sometimes you just have to fight back!

I work in HR at a mid-size company and see this confusion ALL the time. Here's what I tell employees in your situation: Document EVERYTHING in writing. Send your HR department an email requesting: 1) Their specific calculation of your hours worked in the 12 months before leave, 2) Which pay periods they included/excluded, 3) How they handled overtime, holiday pay, and any schedule changes. Keep copies of all your timesheets and pay stubs. If there's a discrepancy, you have grounds to challenge it. Also, many employers don't realize that Washington State has its own family leave job protection that's separate from federal FMLA - it might have different hour requirements that work in your favor. Don't let them intimidate you into giving up without a fight!

I'm going through something similar right now with my employer questioning my hours after I was already approved for PFL benefits. It's so frustrating because like you said, I thought the approval meant everything was verified! Reading through all these comments has been eye-opening about the different requirements. One thing that helped me was creating a spreadsheet with every single pay period from the 12 months before my leave started. I included regular hours, overtime, any schedule changes, and even noted when I worked extra shifts or coverage. Having it all laid out visually made it easier to spot potential errors in my employer's calculation. Also, don't forget to check if you had any unpaid time off that might have affected your total - even things like unpaid lunch breaks can sometimes get miscalculated in payroll systems. I found two weeks where my timesheet showed different hours than what appeared on my paystub, and it made all the difference in reaching that 1,250 hour threshold. Hang in there - having a newborn and dealing with this bureaucratic nightmare at the same time is incredibly stressful, but you have more rights and options than your employer probably wants you to know about!

This is such a complex and frustrating situation, and I really feel for you having to navigate this with a newborn! I went through something similar last year and learned the hard way that there are actually THREE different sets of requirements you might be dealing with: federal FMLA (1,250 hours + 12 months employment), Washington state's own family leave job protection (which I believe has slightly different criteria), and the PFL benefits eligibility (820 hours in qualifying period). What really helped me was requesting a meeting with HR rather than just email - it's harder for them to brush you off in person, and you can ask questions in real time about their calculations. When I did this, I discovered they had miscounted several pay periods where I had worked split shifts, and they hadn't properly included some holiday hours I'd worked. Also, if you do find out you don't qualify for job protection, don't panic yet. Some employers will still work with you on returning to a similar position, especially if you've been a good employee. And like others mentioned, if you suspect any discrimination or if they're treating you differently than other employees in similar situations, document everything and consider contacting the EEOC or a labor attorney for a consultation. Many will give you a free initial consultation to tell you if you have a case. You're not powerless here - keep fighting for what you deserve!

I'm so sorry you're dealing with this stressful situation! As someone who works in employment law, I want to add that you should also check if your employer is subject to Washington's Pregnancy Discrimination Act, which provides additional protections beyond FMLA. Even if you don't meet the federal hour requirements, Washington state law may still protect your position. One thing I haven't seen mentioned yet is that you should also verify whether your employer correctly calculated your "qualifying period" for the 1,250 hours. Some employers mistakenly use the wrong 12-month period - it should be the 12 months immediately before your leave started, not a calendar year or fiscal year. If you discover your employer made calculation errors and you actually do qualify, they could be in serious legal trouble for denying your return. Document every conversation about this in writing and keep copies of all your timesheets. Many employment attorneys will take these cases on contingency if there's clear employer wrongdoing. Don't let them make you feel like you don't have options - Washington has some of the strongest worker protections in the country!