Leave sharing program — When employee may receive leave — When employee may transfer accrued leave — Transfer of leave between employees of different agencies — Return of unused leave — Rules.
RCW 41.04.665
in effect*** CHANGE IN 2026 *** (SEE 2411-S.SL ) ***
(1) An agency head may permit an employee to receive leave under this section if: (a)(i) The employee suffers from, or has a relative or household member suffering from, an illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition which is of an extraordinary or severe nature; (ii) The employee has been called to service in the uniformed services; (iii) The employee is a current member of the uniformed services or is a veteran as defined under RCW 41.04.005 , and is attending medical appointments or treatments for a service connected injury or disability; (iv) The employee is a spouse of a current member of the uniformed services or a veteran as defined under RCW 41.04.005 , who is attending medical appointments or treatments for a service connected injury or disability and requires assistance while attending appointment or treatment; (v) A state of emergency has been declared anywhere within the United States by the federal or any state government and the employee has needed skills to assist in responding to the emergency or its aftermath and volunteers his or her services to either a governmental agency or to a nonprofit organization engaged in humanitarian relief in the devastated area, and the governmental agency or nonprofit organization accepts the employee's offer of volunteer services; (vi) The employee is a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking; (vii) The employee needs the time for parental leave; or (viii) The employee is sick or temporarily disabled because of pregnancy disability; (b) The illness, injury, impairment, condition, call to service, emergency volunteer service, or consequence of domestic violence, sexual assault, temporary layoff under section 3(5), chapter 32, Laws of 2010 1st sp. sess., or stalking has caused, or is likely to cause, the employee to: (i) Go on leave without pay status; or (ii) Terminate state employment; (c) The employee's absence and the use of shared leave are justified; (d) The employee has depleted or will shortly deplete his or her: (i) Annual leave and sick leave reserves if he or she qualifies under (a)(i) of this subsection; (ii) Annual leave and paid military leave allowed under RCW 38.40.060 if he or she qualifies under (a)(ii) of this subsection; (iii) Annual leave if he or she qualifies under (a) (v) or (vi) of this subsection; or (iv) Annual leave and sick leave reserves if the employee qualifies under (a)(vii) or (viii) of this subsection; (e) The employee has abided by agency rules regarding: (i) Sick leave use if he or she qualifies under (a)(i), (vi), (vii), or (viii) of this subsection; or (ii) Military leave if he or she qualifies under (a)(ii) of this subsection; and (f)(i) Until the expiration of proclamation 20-05, issued February 29, 2020, by the governor and declaring a state of emergency in the state of Washington, or any amendment thereto, whichever is later, an agency head may permit an employee to receive shared leave under this section if the employee, or a relative or household member, is isolated or quarantined as recommended, requested, or ordered by a public health official or health care provider as a result of suspected or confirmed infection with or exposure to the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19). An agency head may permit use of shared leave under this subsection (1)(f) without considering the requirements of (a) through (e) of this subsection. (ii) The office of the governor must provide notice of the expiration of proclamation 20-05, or any amendment thereto, whichever is later, to the chief clerk of the house of representatives, the secretary of the senate, the office of the code reviser, and others as deemed appropriate by the office of the governor. (2)(a) The agency head shall determine the amount of leave, if any, which an employee may receive under this section. However, the agency head may not prevent an employee from using shared leave intermittently or on nonconsecutive days so long as the leave has not been returned under subsection (10) of this section. In addition, an employee shall not receive a total of more than five hundred twenty-two days of leave, except that, a supervisor may authorize leave in excess of five hundred twenty-two days in extraordinary circumstances for an employee qualifying for the shared leave program because he or she is suffering from an illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition which is of an extraordinary or severe nature. Shared leave received under the uniformed service shared leave pool in RCW 41.04.685 is not included in this total. (b) An employee receiving industrial insurance wage replacement benefits may not receive greater than twenty-five percent of his or her base salary from the receipt of shared leave under this section. (3) The agency head must allow employees who are veterans, as defined under RCW 41.04.005 , and their spouses, to access shared leave from the veterans' in-state service shared leave pool upon employment. (4) An employee may transfer annual leave, sick leave, and his or her personal holiday, as follows: (a) An employee who has an accrued annual leave balance of more than ten days may request that the head of the agency for which the employee works transfer a specified amount of annual leave to another employee authorized to receive leave under subsection (1) of this section. In no event may the employee request a transfer of an amount of leave that would result in his or her annual leave account going below ten days. For purposes of this subsection (4)(a), annual leave does not accrue if the employee receives compensation in lieu of accumulating a balance of annual leave. (b) An employee may transfer a specified amount of sick leave to an employee requesting shared leave only when the donating employee retains a minimum of one hundred seventy-six hours of sick leave after the transfer. (c) An employee may transfer, under the provisions of this section relating to the transfer of leave, all or part of his or her personal holiday, as that term is defined under RCW 1.16.050 , or as such holidays are provided to employees by agreement with a school district's board of directors if the leave transferred under this subsection does not exceed the amount of time provided for personal holidays under RCW 1.16.050 . (5) An employee of an institution of higher education under RCW 28B.10.016 , school district, or educational service district who does not accrue annual leave but does accrue sick leave and who has an accrued sick leave balance of more than twenty-two days may request that the head of the agency for which the employee works transfer a specified amount of sick leave to another employee authorized to receive leave under subsection (1) of this section. In no event may such an employee request a transfer that would result in his or her sick leave account going below twenty-two days. Transfers of sick leave under this subsection are limited to transfers from employees who do not accrue annual leave. Under this subsection, "sick leave" also includes leave accrued pursuant to RCW 28A.400.300 (1)(b) or 28A.310.240 (1) with compensation for illness, injury, and emergencies. (6) Transfers of leave made by an agency head under subsections (4) and (5) of this section shall not exceed the requested amount. (7) Leave transferred under this section may be transferred from employees of one agency to an employee of the same agency or, with the approval of the heads of both agencies, to an employee of another state agency. (8) While an employee is on leave transferred under this section, he or she shall continue to be classified as a state employee and shall receive the same treatment in respect to salary, wages, and employee benefits as the employee would normally receive if using accrued annual leave or sick leave. (a) All salary and wage payments made to employees while on leave transferred under this section shall be made by the agency employing the person receiving the leave. The value of leave transferred shall be based upon the leave value of the person receiving the leave. (b) In the case of leave transferred by an employee of one agency to an employee of another agency, the agencies involved shall arrange for the transfer of funds and credit for the appropriate value of leave. (i) Pursuant to rules adopted by the office of financial management, funds shall not be transferred under this section if the transfer would violate any constitutional or statutory restrictions on the funds being transferred. (ii) The office of financial management may adjust the appropriation authority of an agency receiving funds under this section only if and to the extent that the agency's existing appropriation authority would prevent it from expending the funds received. (iii) Where any questions arise in the transfer of funds or the adjustment of appropriation authority, the director of financial management shall determine the appropriate transfer or adjustment. (9) Leave transferred under this section shall not be used in any calculation to determine an agency's allocation of full time equivalent staff positions. (10)(a) The value of any leave transferred under this section which remains unused shall be returned at its original value to the employee or employees who transferred the leave when the agency head finds that the leave is no longer needed or will not be needed at a future time in connection with the illness or injury for which the leave was transferred or for any other qualifying condition. Unused shared leave may not be returned until one of the following occurs: (i) The agency head receives from the affected employee a statement from the employee's doctor verifying that the illness or injury is resolved; or (ii) The employee is released to full-time employment; has not received additional medical treatment for his or her current condition or any other qualifying condition for at least six months; and the employee's doctor has declined, in writing, the employee's request for a statement indicating the employee's condition has been resolved. (b) If a shared leave account is closed and an employee later has a need to use shared leave due to the same condition listed in the closed account, the agency head must approve a new shared leave request for the employee. (c) To the extent administratively feasible, the value of unused leave which was transferred by more than one employee shall be returned on a pro rata basis. (11) An employee who uses leave that is transferred to him or her under this section may not be required to repay the value of the leave that he or she used. (12) The director of financial management may adopt rules as necessary to implement subsection (2) of this section. (13) For the purposes of this section, "shortly deplete" means that the employee will have forty hours or less of the applicable leave types under subsection (1)(d) of this section. However, the employee is not required to deplete all of the employee's leave and can maintain up to forty hours of the applicable leave types in reserve.
(1) An agency head may permit an employee to receive leave under this section if:
(a)(i) The employee suffers from, or has a relative or household member suffering from, an illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition which is of an extraordinary or severe nature;
(ii) The employee has been called to service in the uniformed services;
(iii) The employee is a current member of the uniformed services or is a veteran as defined under RCW 41.04.005 , and is attending medical appointments or treatments for a service connected injury or disability;
(iv) The employee is a spouse of a current member of the uniformed services or a veteran as defined under RCW 41.04.005 , who is attending medical appointments or treatments for a service connected injury or disability and requires assistance while attending appointment or treatment;
(v) A state of emergency has been declared anywhere within the United States by the federal or any state government and the employee has needed skills to assist in responding to the emergency or its aftermath and volunteers his or her services to either a governmental agency or to a nonprofit organization engaged in humanitarian relief in the devastated area, and the governmental agency or nonprofit organization accepts the employee's offer of volunteer services;
(vi) The employee is a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking;
(vii) The employee needs the time for parental leave; or
(viii) The employee is sick or temporarily disabled because of pregnancy disability;
(b) The illness, injury, impairment, condition, call to service, emergency volunteer service, or consequence of domestic violence, sexual assault, temporary layoff under section 3(5), chapter 32, Laws of 2010 1st sp. sess., or stalking has caused, or is likely to cause, the employee to:
(i) Go on leave without pay status; or
(ii) Terminate state employment;
(c) The employee's absence and the use of shared leave are justified;
(d) The employee has depleted or will shortly deplete his or her:
(i) Annual leave and sick leave reserves if he or she qualifies under (a)(i) of this subsection;
(ii) Annual leave and paid military leave allowed under RCW 38.40.060 if he or she qualifies under (a)(ii) of this subsection;
(iii) Annual leave if he or she qualifies under (a) (v) or (vi) of this subsection; or
(iv) Annual leave and sick leave reserves if the employee qualifies under (a)(vii) or (viii) of this subsection;
(e) The employee has abided by agency rules regarding:
(i) Sick leave use if he or she qualifies under (a)(i), (vi), (vii), or (viii) of this subsection; or
(ii) Military leave if he or she qualifies under (a)(ii) of this subsection; and
(f)(i) Until the expiration of proclamation 20-05, issued February 29, 2020, by the governor and declaring a state of emergency in the state of Washington, or any amendment thereto, whichever is later, an agency head may permit an employee to receive shared leave under this section if the employee, or a relative or household member, is isolated or quarantined as recommended, requested, or ordered by a public health official or health care provider as a result of suspected or confirmed infection with or exposure to the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19). An agency head may permit use of shared leave under this subsection (1)(f) without considering the requirements of (a) through (e) of this subsection.
(ii) The office of the governor must provide notice of the expiration of proclamation 20-05, or any amendment thereto, whichever is later, to the chief clerk of the house of representatives, the secretary of the senate, the office of the code reviser, and others as deemed appropriate by the office of the governor.
(2)(a) The agency head shall determine the amount of leave, if any, which an employee may receive under this section. However, the agency head may not prevent an employee from using shared leave intermittently or on nonconsecutive days so long as the leave has not been returned under subsection (10) of this section. In addition, an employee shall not receive a total of more than five hundred twenty-two days of leave, except that, a supervisor may authorize leave in excess of five hundred twenty-two days in extraordinary circumstances for an employee qualifying for the shared leave program because he or she is suffering from an illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition which is of an extraordinary or severe nature. Shared leave received under the uniformed service shared leave pool in RCW 41.04.685 is not included in this total.
(b) An employee receiving industrial insurance wage replacement benefits may not receive greater than twenty-five percent of his or her base salary from the receipt of shared leave under this section.
(3) The agency head must allow employees who are veterans, as defined under RCW 41.04.005 , and their spouses, to access shared leave from the veterans' in-state service shared leave pool upon employment.
(4) An employee may transfer annual leave, sick leave, and his or her personal holiday, as follows:
(a) An employee who has an accrued annual leave balance of more than ten days may request that the head of the agency for which the employee works transfer a specified amount of annual leave to another employee authorized to receive leave under subsection (1) of this section. In no event may the employee request a transfer of an amount of leave that would result in his or her annual leave account going below ten days. For purposes of this subsection (4)(a), annual leave does not accrue if the employee receives compensation in lieu of accumulating a balance of annual leave.
(b) An employee may transfer a specified amount of sick leave to an employee requesting shared leave only when the donating employee retains a minimum of one hundred seventy-six hours of sick leave after the transfer.
(c) An employee may transfer, under the provisions of this section relating to the transfer of leave, all or part of his or her personal holiday, as that term is defined under RCW 1.16.050 , or as such holidays are provided to employees by agreement with a school district's board of directors if the leave transferred under this subsection does not exceed the amount of time provided for personal holidays under RCW 1.16.050 .
(5) An employee of an institution of higher education under RCW 28B.10.016 , school district, or educational service district who does not accrue annual leave but does accrue sick leave and who has an accrued sick leave balance of more than twenty-two days may request that the head of the agency for which the employee works transfer a specified amount of sick leave to another employee authorized to receive leave under subsection (1) of this section. In no event may such an employee request a transfer that would result in his or her sick leave account going below twenty-two days. Transfers of sick leave under this subsection are limited to transfers from employees who do not accrue annual leave. Under this subsection, "sick leave" also includes leave accrued pursuant to RCW 28A.400.300 (1)(b) or 28A.310.240 (1) with compensation for illness, injury, and emergencies.
(6) Transfers of leave made by an agency head under subsections (4) and (5) of this section shall not exceed the requested amount.
(7) Leave transferred under this section may be transferred from employees of one agency to an employee of the same agency or, with the approval of the heads of both agencies, to an employee of another state agency.
(8) While an employee is on leave transferred under this section, he or she shall continue to be classified as a state employee and shall receive the same treatment in respect to salary, wages, and employee benefits as the employee would normally receive if using accrued annual leave or sick leave.
(a) All salary and wage payments made to employees while on leave transferred under this section shall be made by the agency employing the person receiving the leave. The value of leave transferred shall be based upon the leave value of the person receiving the leave.
(b) In the case of leave transferred by an employee of one agency to an employee of another agency, the agencies involved shall arrange for the transfer of funds and credit for the appropriate value of leave.
(i) Pursuant to rules adopted by the office of financial management, funds shall not be transferred under this section if the transfer would violate any constitutional or statutory restrictions on the funds being transferred.
(ii) The office of financial management may adjust the appropriation authority of an agency receiving funds under this section only if and to the extent that the agency's existing appropriation authority would prevent it from expending the funds received.
(iii) Where any questions arise in the transfer of funds or the adjustment of appropriation authority, the director of financial management shall determine the appropriate transfer or adjustment.
(9) Leave transferred under this section shall not be used in any calculation to determine an agency's allocation of full time equivalent staff positions.
(10)(a) The value of any leave transferred under this section which remains unused shall be returned at its original value to the employee or employees who transferred the leave when the agency head finds that the leave is no longer needed or will not be needed at a future time in connection with the illness or injury for which the leave was transferred or for any other qualifying condition. Unused shared leave may not be returned until one of the following occurs:
(i) The agency head receives from the affected employee a statement from the employee's doctor verifying that the illness or injury is resolved; or
(ii) The employee is released to full-time employment; has not received additional medical treatment for his or her current condition or any other qualifying condition for at least six months; and the employee's doctor has declined, in writing, the employee's request for a statement indicating the employee's condition has been resolved.
(b) If a shared leave account is closed and an employee later has a need to use shared leave due to the same condition listed in the closed account, the agency head must approve a new shared leave request for the employee.
(c) To the extent administratively feasible, the value of unused leave which was transferred by more than one employee shall be returned on a pro rata basis.
(11) An employee who uses leave that is transferred to him or her under this section may not be required to repay the value of the leave that he or she used.
(12) The director of financial management may adopt rules as necessary to implement subsection (2) of this section.
(13) For the purposes of this section, "shortly deplete" means that the employee will have forty hours or less of the applicable leave types under subsection (1)(d) of this section. However, the employee is not required to deplete all of the employee's leave and can maintain up to forty hours of the applicable leave types in reserve.
Source: WA Statutes (Official Site)URL: https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=41.04&full=trueFetched: 6/29/2026