Search

• Exempting corporate officers

  Requesting insurance coverage for corporate officers Effective January 1, 2014 a legislative law change allows Corporations to request coverage for all corporate officers and pay state unemployment taxes on them if they earn wages in Washington and meet certain criteria. To request coverage, please submit the voluntary election form. Exempted officers will not receive unemployment benefits if they lose their jobs. Corporate officers who are covered may receive unemployment benefits if they...

• Relief of benefit charges

  Relief of benefit charges Relief of benefit charges applies only to taxable, non-local government employers.  When an employer is granted “relief of benefit charges,” benefits paid to the employer’s former worker are not factored in to the employer’s tax rate. You may qualify to have the benefit charges removed (which we call "relief of benefit charges") if your employee's separation is due to one of the following reasons: They voluntarily quit, and you did not cause the...

• UI Benefits rulemaking

  Unemployment Insurance Benefits Rules    Rules under development Benefit Charging Reinstating Withdrawn Appeals Corporate officer clean-up Conditional payments Public Health Emergencies Failure to respond Transportation Network Companies Officers of Employee-Owned Cooperatives Standard occupational classification reporting for federally recognized tribes Expanding good cause for voluntarily quitting employment Public Records Procedures...

• Unemployment Benefits

  Unemployment benefits What are unemployment benefits? Unemployment benefits provide you with temporary income when you lose your job through no fault of your own. The money partly replaces your lost earnings and helps you pay expenses while looking for new work. The benefits, from taxes your former employer(s) paid, are not based on financial need. While you receive benefits, your job is to get back to work as quickly as possible. How to apply...

• Data-sharing requests

  Data-sharing requests In the course of administering unemployment-insurance programs and benefits, we collect information from individuals, employers and WorkSource service providers. Some of that information is public; most is confidential. Information that identifies a person or an employer is protected by Employment Security, in accordance with stringent state and federal laws. Those laws allow us to release some confidential information, if the request or requester meets specific...

• Finding business-friendly programs is as easy as ESD

  Finding business-friendly programs is as easy as ESD  by Chad Pearson, Shared Work marketing manager for the Employment Security Department (6/1/15) The Employment Security Department (ESD) isn’t just “the unemployment office” anymore. A full suite of business programs is available to help employers be successful.          Find your next employee of the month through our partnership with WorkSource.       &#160...

• Training Benefits program

  Training Benefits program Training Benefits information: The Training Benefits program offers additional weeks of unemployment benefits so eligible claimants can train for careers in high-demand fields. The number of weeks you can get Training Benefits varies according to your claim, but is usually 26. You’ll need a plan for how to pay for school and living expenses after it runs out. If approved for training benefits, you do not have to look for work as...

• Commissioner Approved Training

  Commissioner Approved Training (CAT) Commissioner Approved Training (CAT) allows you to collect your regular unemployment benefits while attending an approved, full-time training program. If approved for commissioner-approved training, you do not have to look for work while receiving unemployment benefits. CAT does not pay for books, tuition or school-related fees. It does not extend your benefits. Eligibility You may be eligible for CAT if you are otherwise eligible for...

• Working with ESD during an audit

  Working with us during an audit Our auditors contact employers by phone, email or letter of the pending audit; identify the records that need to be available for inspection; and to set a mutually agreeable date, location, and time to conduct the audit.  The auditor sends the employer an appointment confirmation letter, pre-audit questionnaire and required records checklist. What auditors look for The auditor will perform a wide variety of audit functions, which may include...

• Common audit findings

  Common audit findings Unregistered employersBusinesses who hire reportable employees without a registered Employment Security Department (ESD) account. In the state of Washington, every business with employees must register and report wages for unemployment insurance taxes. Unreported workersBusinesses inappropriately identifying their workers as casual, temporary labor or as independent contractors when they should be reported as employees. We apply the employment tests in RCW 50.04.140...