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• Agricultural and Seasonal Workforce Services Advisory Committee

  Agricultural and Seasonal Workforce Services Advisory Committee On May 21, 2019, the Governor signed Engrossed Second Substitute Senate Bill 5438 (C 441, L 2020) establishing the Office of Agricultural and Seasonal Workforce Services and associated Advisory Committee.  The bill clarifies the state’s role in the H-2A temporary agricultural program to provide adequate protections for foreign and domestic workers and provide education and outreach opportunities to help...

• Legislation - Recent and new laws FAQ

  Legislation - Recent and new laws FAQ Q. Have there been recent changes in Employment Security or unemployment-insurance laws?A. In 2011, the state legislature reduced unemployment-insurance taxes for most employers by capping the social-cost component of the unemployment tax and lowering the multipliers that set the social-cost tax rate for 20 of the 40 rate classes. The tax reductions will save employers more than $300 million in 2011, with a total savings of about $360 million from...

• 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...

• Shared Work Program still helping more than 700 Washington Businesses

  Shared Work Program still helping more than 700 Washington businesses by Chad Pearson, Shared Work marketing manager for the Employment Security Department (12/18/15) Washington businesses big and small continue to avoid layoffs using the Employment Security Department’s Shared Work Program. Even as Washington’s unemployment rate has dropped to nearly, 5 percent, more than 700 businesses in the state continue to use the program. That’s because Shared Work can be helpful not only during a...

• Audits

  Audits We audit employers' records to ensure that wages and hours are accurately reported as required by Washington State's unemployment-insurance laws and rules. Being selected for audit does not mean you violated any laws or rules. How Far Back We Audit We typically request three years worth of records. If an auditor finds questionable business practices, the audit may be expanded. RCW 50.24.190. What We Audit We look at financial documents, accounting and employment records...

• Labor area summaries

  Labor area summaries Labor area summaries provide labor market information for metropolitan areas and counties in Washington state. We refresh these data once a month, following a federal Bureau of Labor Statistics schedule. View the schedule on the Monthly Employment Report page. Labor market information at the state and county level shown in the figure below can be found at: Washington employment estimates  Current employment statistics Local unemployment statistics  Map of county...

• ALERT - Fraudulent emails trick recipients into opening malicious links

  ALERT: Fraudulent emails trick recipients into opening malicious links Updated Friday, May 27, 2016 Recently, an employer contacted Employment Security Department (ESD) regarding a message he received that appeared to come from ESD, but was in fact a phishing scam. The recipient clicked on a link in the email and it compromised the security of his computer. Phishing is a fraudulent process used by spammers to acquire sensitive information from users such as usernames, passwords, and...

• Additional PEO information

  PEO information If you are a “professional employer organization” (PEO) that has clients in Washington state, there are laws that affect you. PEOs are businesses that manage human-resource issues, such as workers’ compensation, payroll and unemployment insurance (UI), for other companies. The law now requires you to register with the Employment Security Department and to make sure that your client employers are also registered. If you represent a client employer for UI purposes, you must...

• Labor market county profiles

  Labor market county profiles County profiles highlight aspects of the economic health of each of Washington’s counties. The facts and figures are useful for grant applications, strategic planning, economic development and other research projects.  What is the data source for the county profiles? We compose each county profile using data we collect and data from the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, federal Bureau of Economic Analysis, the U.S. Census Bureau, Washington State...

• EAMS Locked Services

  Requesting locked services in EAMS    Owners or officers of the business At the Available Services screen, select your business. Under the Business account menu, choose Request access to locked services. Read the Terms of use and select I agree. From the Business role screen, select Yes. On the next screen, select the title of your role from the list. On the Washington State Employment Security Department EAMS authorization request form screen, submit...