Start tracking employee hours and wages on Jan. 1, 2019

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Email three of five

First reporting period starts Jan. 1


Wordmark image of the words Washington Paid Family and Medical Leave

About this message: This is the third email in a five-part series designed to help employers prepare for the legal requirements that kick in on Jan. 1, 2019. To read the previous emails in the series, go to www.paidleave.wa.gov/newsroom.  For more information now, visit http://www.paidleave.wa.gov/employers.

About the program: In 2017, Washington’s Legislature passed a paid family and medical leave law. Starting in 2020, Washington will be the fifth state in the nation to offer paid family and medical leave benefits to workers. A premium of employee gross wages will fund the program, with the cost shared by both employees and many employers. The Employment Security Department (ESD) administers the program.


About reporting

Starting in 2019, employers will be required to report employee information to ESD quarterly. The first report will be due April 30; begin tracking your employees’ hours and wages on Jan. 1, 2019 in preparation.

Reporting fields

  • UBI number
  • Business name
  • Total premiums collected (if any) from employees
  • Name of the report preparer

Then, for each employee:

  • SSN or ITIN
  • Last name
  • First name
  • Middle initial
  • Wages paid in the reporting quarter and the associated hours

Who to report

All employees who work in Washington should be included, even those who work part-time, seasonally or on a temporary basis.

The only exceptions are federal employees, federally recognized tribes and self-employed individuals. Employees covered under collective bargaining agreements (CBA) in effect on or before Oct. 19, 2017 are not subject to the rights or responsibilities of the program until that CBA is reopened, renegotiated, or expires. Read more about employees covered by CBAs on our website.


Reporting periods

Reporting periods follow calendar quarters and are aligned with the reporting periods for Unemployment Insurance (UI).

Reporting quarter

Report due

January, February, March April 30
April, May, June July 31
July, August, September October 31
October, November, December January 31

Submitting reports

The processes for submitting reports and remitting premiums are currently in development. We plan to make it like UI reporting, but it will be a separate report from UI and other state programs. Employers will typically report through our new customer account management system; bulk filing and alternative reporting options will be available.

Once the new account management system is available, employers will need to register using their existing Secure Access Washington (SAW) account. If you don’t already have a SAW account, you will need to create one. We will provide more information on how to do that when the account management system is online.


Premiums

The previous email in this series covered calculating premiums in more detail; Read it at www.paidleave.wa.gov/newsroom.

For 2019, the premium rate is 0.4% of each employee’s gross wages, minus tips. Businesses of all sizes, including small businesses, faith organizations, nonprofits and charities, calculate premiums using the same formula. Detailed information on calculating premiums, including a calculator you can use to estimate your premiums, is available on our website at www.paidleave.wa.gov/premium-calculator.  


Remitting premiums

We expect that we will be able to accept both electronic payments and checks when employers remit premiums in April 2019. We will have more detailed information on this process as the customer account management system develops. Sign up for our newsletter to receive relevant details as soon as they’re available.


There's still time to prepare

There is still plenty of time to get ready for Jan. 1, and we’re here to help. This email series will walk you through preparing for the Paid Family and Medical Leave requirements that kick in on Jan. 1, 2019. Look for the fourth email in the series next week; It will provide sample language you can share with your employees to explain the premium deduction and benefits. To read previous emails in the series, visit the Newsroom on our website.

You can also get more information at any time by going to www.paidleave.wa.gov/employers and:


Tome tiempo

El 1 de enero, las empresas de todos los tamaños empezarán a deducir primas para el programa “Paid Family & Medical Leave” (Permiso de cuidado pagado). Este programa estatal de seguro ofrecerá a todos los empleados que cumplan con los requisitos hasta 12 semanas de permiso pagado, que se podrán tomar a partir del 2020. Es muy fácil empezar y hay ayudas económicas especiales para negocios pequeños.

Para más información visite tometiempo.org.