Employment Security Department: Frequently asked questions -- March 2009
Recent and new laws
Q. Have there been recent changes in Employment Security or unemployment-insurance laws?
A.
- In 2007, the state legislature adopted House Bill 1278, which more closely links new-employers' unemployment tax rates with their actual costs, and expected to save them more than $9 million in 2008.
- In 2007, the state legislature adopted Senate Bill 5373, which includes multiple changes that will improve the fairness, stability and efficiency of Washington's unemployment-insurance system for businesses. Specifically, it will hold employers more accountable for their own unemployment costs so they can't pass those costs on to other businesses.
- Employers are charged for unemployment benefits paid to their workers if the employers did not report or incorrectly reported employee hours on their quarterly tax reports.
- Officers of a corporation that goes out of business may be held personally responsible for unemployment taxes if they tried to hide assets or lied to avoid the tax bill.
- Employers who file incorrect or incomplete tax-and-wage reports will receive a warning letter for a first offense, and repeated violations within a five-year period will be penalized on a graduated scale. The bill also introduced a $75 minimum penalty for the second violation, $150 for the third and $250 for each error after that.
- By September 2007, professional employer organizations (PEO) had to register themselves and their client companies with the Employment Security Department and file separate tax reports for each client. Also, each client company will pay taxes based on its own unemployment experience, rather than sharing a single rate with other clients of the PEO, beginning in 2008.
- In 2009, corporations are required to provide unemployment coverage for all of their corporate officers, unless the employer notifies its officers and the department in writing (by January 15) that it is opting out. The legislation also introduced penalties and increased suspension periods for people who collect benefits they do not deserve. This is on top of the requirement to pay back any benefits they received. Stiffer penalties should deter people from trying to scam the system, which will help control employers’ costs and stabilize their tax rates, as well as protect unemployment benefits for qualified claimants. This section of the law takes effect in January 2008.
To read the new laws, go to http://www.leg.wa.gov/legislature click on "Bill Search" and look them up by their bill number.
