No. Taxes are not optional.

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Is the question "Can I not use PFML time off for my surgery?" or "Can I not pay taxes into PFML?"

To not claim the time off, I'm pretty sure the answer is yes. You have to file for Paid Leave, so you could just not file. How you handle your finances at that point is up to you.

To not pay the PFML premium... probably not. You've only got two ways around it. You can convince the company that employs you to cover the cost as a benefit, and 99.9% of employers would rape their own grandmothers on national TV if they thought it reduce their quarterly losses. If you think you can negotiate this new benefit, good luck. Option two is to quit and work as a self-employed contractor or some other means of self-employ. If you're self-employed, you have the option to not pay in. That means you don't get to claim Paid Leave down the road if you need it, though.

No.

You never know when you might need it. This should be federally funded but I'm grateful for it and am happy to fund it for Washingtonians in need!

Only way out: work for the federal government, a tribal business, or yourself (self employed)

Why would you? I tore my labrum and am currently using it. You never know when you need something like this. Crazy to me that you would give up this benefit for an extra dollar on your check

I’m considering moving to WA, so this is something to consider. This and the 2035 gas vehicle ban.

In my current state I earn 50k as a teacher. I am a member of a sick leave bank benefit which grants me sick days that I may not have at the time I need them. I gave up 2 sick days when I enrolled and I give up one sick day a year to be a member.

I recently had surgery and I was out for 12 weeks. The sick leave bank and my existing sick days covered my entire FMLA. I pay into short term disability just in case through my medical insurance and I didn’t even have to use it. The short term disability I pay for is $265/yr.

At the .08 premium of the PFML tax I’d have to pay $400 a year. That’s not the best deal. Especially since teachers are also offered a sick leave bank benefit in Washington. So they are paying extra for a benefit they are already offered at a much cheaper cost.

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“That means you don’t get paid leave down the road if you need it though”

Honest question, are they charging you for the benefit of paid leave now? I get paid leave through my employer without an extra tax just through my sick days. If I happen to exhaust those, I get 40 extra sick days through their sick leave bank (I’m a member at a cost of 1 sick day a year). If I exhaust those, my private short term leave insurance kicks in which is much, much cheaper than the tax they are imposing for this benefit.

>are they charging you for the benefit of paid leave now?

I couldn't find anything that said when payments started, so I looked at my paystub and, yes, at least I'm being charged now. A quick look at the math shows me getting hit for 0.58% of my check, so for a $1000 check, I'd get charged $5.80.

>If I exhaust those, my private short term leave insurance kicks in which is much, much cheaper than the tax they are imposing for this benefit.

While I was digging for the payment info, I came across info on Voluntary Plans. Quick version is that an employer has to provide something equivalent to PFML. If they want to opt out of the government plan, they have to submit their own equivalent plan and have that approved. If it doesn't do the same job as PFML, it, at least should, be denied. At the end of the day, this comes down to having your employer look in to it. Now, as per my grandmother raping comment, I don't trust a business to lift one finger that it doesn't have to, regardless of how much it would save their workers. But I've been wrong before. Maybe ask your payroll, HR department, or union shop steward if there are any plans to opt out of the plan. If they won't... well look at it like this. It's not terribly expensive, and you're covered a bit more if absolutely everything goes down the toilet.

In my case, I don't pay into it, nor am I eligible to receive it. Some weird thing about our union contract and how it has to be negotiated. That being said, I have forgone and put off procedures needed until I get my vacation time. Like I need knee surgery and have pushed it out to September when I get my vacation time. I get it in August, but there no appointments then. Mainly because I can't afford not to get paid for the 6 or 7 weeks of rehab after the surgery. So, in the meantime, I work as much over time as I can as my vacation hours are based on the amount of hours worked per year. Which may cause further damage to the knee.

There has to be a way. Found this on the paid leave site.

“Some employees, however, may choose to apply for an exemption from WA Cares coverage. It’s their responsibility to apply, and—if approved—to notify and give their employer(s) a copy of their approval letter from Employment Security Department (ESD). Once approved, exemptions are permanent and employees can never opt back in.”

Employers can opt out by showing they have a voluntary plan.

https://paidleave.wa.gov/voluntary-plans/

I have enough sick days banked up to cover short term leave and will never use this. It’s just income tax.

Taxes are not optional, except when they are.. e.g. opting out of the LTC tax.