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2021 Op. Wash. Att'y Gen. [1] (2021)

handle is hein.sag/sagwa2021 and id is 1 raw text is: Published on Washington State (https://www.atg.wa.gov) Home > Whether State, County, And City Elected Officials Are Employees Subject To Withholding Under Washington's Paid Family And Medical Leave Act Attorney General MEDICAL BENEFITS-ELECTED OFFICIALS-EMPLOYEES-Whether State, County, And City Elected Officials Are Employees Subject To Withholding Under Washington's Paid Family And Medical Leave Act Elected officials are employees for purposes of Washington's Paid Family and Medical Leave Act, and are subject to withholding of premiums as described by RCW 50A.10.030. February 23, 2021 The Honorable C. Dale Slack Columbia County Prosecuting Attorney Cite As: 215 E Clay Street AGO 2021 No. 1 Dayton, WA 99328 Dear Prosecutor Slack: By letter previously acknowledged, you have requested our opinion on two questions, which we paraphrase as follows: 1. Do state, county, and city elected officials within the State of Washington qualify as employees under Washington's Paid Family and Medical Leave Act (PFMLA)? 2. Are state, county, and city elected officials within the State of Washington subject to the withholding of Paid Family and Medical Leave premiums as described by RCW 50A.10.030? BRIEF ANSWERS 1. Yes. The PFMLA creates a paid family and medical leave insurance benefit system for all Washington workers who qualify as employees and meet eligibility requirements. The PFMLA is silent on whether elected officials are included in that definition, but principles of statutory interpretation lead us to conclude that the legislature likely did not intend to silently exclude elected officials from the Act's protection. 2. Yes. Under the PFMLA, premiums are assessed on a per-employee basis. Because elected officials would likely be considered employees under the Act, premiums should