In May 2007, Washington became the second state in the nation (after California) to pass a paid family leave law. (New Jersey has since passed such a law, as well.) Effective October 1, 2009, the law would have allowed new parents to receive partial compensation for time they take off to spend with their new child. Employees would have been eligible to receive up to $250 per week for up to five weeks.

The law also created a task force to study funding and administrative options for the program. Apparently, the task force didn't like what it found: In what may be a sign of the economic times, Washington decided to suspend the program in 2009, due to state budget shortfalls. Implementation has been delayed until October 2012.