Can a Washington employer use an attendance points policy?

Yes, but it cannot count protected sick leave. WAC 296-128-770 expressly prohibits any policy that counts paid-sick-leave use as an absence that may lead to discipline — the regulation was written with no-fault points systems in mind. Points remain lawful for absences the statute doesn't protect.

Can a Washington employer require a doctor's note?

Only when an absence exceeds three required workdays, only if a written verification policy was given to employees in advance, and only if getting the note doesn't impose an unreasonable burden or expense. A note demand on a one- or two-day call-off violates the rules.

Does a Washington employer have to pay out unused PTO at termination?

Vacation and PTO follow your written policy — no statute forces payout, but a promised payout is enforceable as wages, and willful withholding doubles the damages. Sick leave never requires payout; instead, the balance must be reinstated if the employee is rehired within 12 months.

When is the final paycheck due in Washington?

By the end of the established pay period — the next regularly scheduled payday — whether the employee was fired or quit.

How is Seattle's sick leave different from Washington's?

Seattle's Paid Sick and Safe Time ordinance is tiered by employer size: the largest employers (250+ full-time equivalents) accrue at 1 hour per 30 worked with 72-hour carryover (108 in a combined PTO plan), and the ordinance reaches some workers the state law exempts. Employers with Seattle crews follow whichever rule favors the employee.

Washington sick leave law & call-off rules

Q: Is paid sick leave required in Washington?

Yes. Every Washington employer must provide paid sick leave at 1 hour per 40 hours worked, starting at hire. There's no accrual cap and no annual use cap — employees may use everything they accrue — and at least 40 hours carries over each year. Seattle, Tacoma, and SeaTac impose additional local requirements.

Washington's paid sick leave (Initiative 1433) applies to every employer and comes with two features that reshape attendance policies: there is no cap on how much accrued leave an employee may use in a year, and the state's rules outlaw — by name — any policy that counts protected sick leave as an absence that can lead to discipline. Seattle, Tacoma, and SeaTac each layer more on top. Here is what applies in 2026.

Washington at a glance

Paid sick leave mandate	Yes — 1 hour per 40 worked, every employer, no annual use cap
Attendance points on sick time	Banned by name — WAC 296-128-770 outlaws counting protected leave toward discipline
Local ordinances	Seattle (tiered, up to 1:30/72h), Tacoma, SeaTac — most favorable rule wins
Doctor's notes	Only past 3 required workdays, and only under a written policy already distributed
PTO payout at termination	Vacation per policy; sick leave no payout (reinstated on rehire within 12 months)
Final paycheck deadline	Next regular payday, fired or quit (willful withholding = double damages)
Meal & rest breaks	Required — 30-minute meal over 5 hours, paid 10-minute rest per 4 hours

Is paid sick leave required in Washington?

Yes. Under RCW 49.46.200–.210, employees at every Washington employer accrue 1 hour of paid sick leave per 40 hours worked from day one (use may be delayed 90 days for new hires). There are no employer-size tiers, no accrual cap, and no annual use cap — every accrued hour is usable and protected. At least 40 hours carries over each year. Recent amendments broadened the family-member definition (2025) and added immigration-proceeding leave (July 2025).

How Washington's sick leave law works

Accrual rate	1 hour per 40 hours worked, all employer sizes; monthly balance statements required
Use cap	None — employees may use everything they've accrued
Carryover	At least 40 hours; front-loading permitted with a true-up if it falls short of actual accrual
Covered uses	Own or family illness and preventive care (broad 2025 family definition, including household members), safe leave, public-official closures of the workplace or a child's school — and since July 2025, immigration proceedings
Doctor's notes	Only for absences exceeding 3 required workdays, only under a written policy already given to employees, and never at unreasonable burden or expense
Local ordinances	Seattle PSST (tiered: up to 1:30 accrual and 72-hour carryover at 250+ FTEs), Tacoma (adds bereavement, covers exempt staff), SeaTac (hospitality/transportation, annual cash-out)

The anti-retaliation rule: WAC 296-128-770 makes it unlawful to "adopt or enforce any policy that counts the use of paid sick leave … as an absence that may lead to or result in discipline." Washington didn't leave the attendance-points question to interpretation — the rule targets points systems directly.

The federal floor that still applies

FMLA

Employers with 50+ employees within 75 miles must give eligible employees (12+ months tenure, 1,250+ hours in the past year) up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave for a serious health condition — their own or a close family member's. FMLA-protected absences can't accrue attendance points, and a call-off that mentions an ongoing condition can be notice enough to trigger your FMLA obligations, even if the employee never says "FMLA."

ADA

For employers with 15+ employees, the ADA can require modified attendance expectations or unpaid leave as a reasonable accommodation for a disability. An attendance policy applied "no exceptions" is exactly the kind that loses ADA cases — build an accommodation carve-out into the policy itself.

Call-offs, no-call no-shows, and firing in Washington

Washington is at-will, and a true no-call no-show remains disciplinable. But the state closed the no-fault loophole explicitly: a points policy that dings protected sick leave violates WAC 296-128-770 on its face, and with no annual use cap, there's no point in the year where an employee "runs out" of protection — a crew member with 60 banked hours can lawfully use all 60. That puts the entire compliance burden on classification: every call-off has to be sorted, at the time it happens, into protected sick leave (never touches the points ledger) or ordinary absence (policy applies). The Department of Labor & Industries enforces with the employer's own records as the primary evidence. A call-off hotline or text-based call-off system that captures each report verbatim and time-stamped is what makes per-absence classification workable at field-crew scale.

PTO payout and final paychecks

Scenario	Rule	Source
Employee is fired or laid off	Wages due at the end of the pay period — the next regularly scheduled payday	RCW 49.48.010
Employee quits	Same — next regular payday	RCW 49.48.010
Unused vacation / PTO	No statutory payout — the written policy or agreement controls and is enforceable as wages	Policy/contract law
Willfully withheld wages	Double damages plus attorney's fees	RCW 49.52.050/.070

Washington's payday deadline is forgiving, but willful withholding doubles the bill — include the promised vacation balance the first time. See how PTO accrual works.

Leave Washington employers must (and must not) provide

Leave type	Required?	Notes
Paid sick leave	Yes	Per the mechanics above; Seattle/Tacoma/SeaTac add more
Meal & rest breaks	Yes	30-minute meal for shifts over 5 hours; paid 10-minute rest per 4 hours, no more than 3 hours' work before a break
Jury duty	Yes — unpaid	Sufficient leave required; threats, coercion, or denial of promotion over jury service prohibited
Voting	No	Washington votes entirely by mail — no time-off requirement
Military	Yes	USERRA (federal) plus Washington National Guard protections

The Washington employer's attendance playbook

Put it in writing. A written policy — call-off deadline and channel, points or steps, the no-call no-show rule, and carve-outs for legally protected absences — is what makes discipline defensible. Our attendance policy guide walks through it.
Give call-offs one channel. "Tell whoever answers" is how records get lost. One number every employee texts or calls makes the record automatic.
Log everything with timestamps. Unemployment hearings and discrimination charges are won on contemporaneous records, not recollections.
Enforce consistently. Uneven enforcement converts a lawful termination into a discrimination claim.
Screen call-offs for protected reasons before applying points — sickness that could be state-protected sick time or FMLA/ADA territory gets a different track than an overslept alarm.

Note: This is general information for Washington private-sector employers as of 2026, not legal advice. Federal contractors and public employers have additional rules, and laws change. Confirm specifics with qualified counsel.

Comparing states? See all published guides on the state sick leave laws hub.

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