High Volume Leads To Payout Delay In Family Leave Program

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) – A high volume of applicants to Washington state’s new paid family leave law is creating a delay in processing applications and payouts of the weekly benefit.

Within the first three weeks of the program going live, more than 22,000 people have applied, which is the amount officials estimated they would receive in the first three months.

While their initial goal was to process all of the applications within two weeks of getting them, they had initially told applicants it could take up to 30 days.

But with the volume of applicants, a spokeswoman said the time frame could go beyond the 30 days soon.