December 2021 | Issue 14

WA Cares Fund: What you need to know

Premium collection begins in January

Beginning Jan. 1, 2022, you must collect WA Cares premiums from your employees' wages and report their wages and hours at the end of the each quarter—the same way you do now for Paid Leave. As an employer, you won’t pay any share of WA Cares premiums for your employees.

Tracking employee exemptions

Some employees may choose to apply for an exemption from WA Cares coverage. It’s their responsibility to apply, and—if approved—to notify and give you a copy of their approval letter from ESD. Once approved, exemptions are permanent and employees can never opt back in.

Once notified, you must:

• Not deduct WA Cares premiums from employees who’ve provided an ESD exemption approval letter. Note: This letter will list the effective date of the employee’s exemption.
• Keep a copy of your employees’ approval letters on file.

When will employees receive their exemption approval letters from ESD?

We're processing your employees' exemption applications as quickly as we can in the order we received them. As we’ve shared, if they completed their application on or before Dec. 1, 2021, we guarantee we will process it before premiums take effect in January.

If you have eligible employees who still intend to apply for an exemption, encourage them to submit their application as soon as possible. Exemptions take effect the quarter after the application is approved. Example: If an employee’s exemption application is approved on Jan. 15, 2022, they must still contribute WA Cares premiums until the new quarter begins on April 1, 2022.

Join a live webinar

We’re inviting workers to attend live informational webinars where they can learn more about what benefits are available, how to vest and other details about the state’s approach to providing long-term care coverage. They’ll have an opportunity to speak directly with WA Cares Fund staff and get their questions answered. Pre-registration to attend is not required.

Employees who can’t attend a webinar are encouraged to visit wacaresfund.wa.gov or check out our informational flyer for more information about the program.

Learn more

We’ve got your back. There’s plenty to know about WA Cares, and we’re committed to making your experience as easy as possible by providing the tools and information you need. Take a look:

• Visit wacaresfund.wa.gov to learn about the benefit and what to expect. Your workers may look to you when they have questions about WA Cares, and we invite you to share our website as a resource. Our contact info is available if they need assistance.
• Check out our Employer page for helpful program information relating to your business. You can also find more resources in our Employer Toolkit, including a multi-language flyer that can help workers understand the benefit.
• Read our Learn more page to read our frequently asked questions, including specific questions for employers.

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