Employment Security Department - Washington State

Employer Newsletter - October, Issue 67

Washington State Employment Security Department sent this bulletin at 10/13/2025 10:33 AM PDT

October 2025 | Issue 67

Q3 unemployment, Paid Leave, WA Cares reports and payments due by Oct. 31, 2025

Q3 reports and payments are due by Oct. 31. If you had no payroll for the quarter, file a “No payroll” report.

Use 2025 tax and premium rates. If you work with a third party to file your reports, remind them to use 2025 rates.

Tell us which program your payment is for

Pay separately for unemployment and WA Cares/Paid Leave. If we receive your payment with no program specified, we will first apply your payment to any unemployment tax balance, second to any Paid Leave balance and third to any WA Cares balance.

You can pay unemployment taxes by ACH, check or money order.
You can pay Paid Leave and WA Cares premiums by ACH, credit or debit card, check or money order.

Use payment coupons if you pay by check or money order

Include the correct payment coupon with your check.

For unemployment tax quarterly reports:

Download the unemployment payment coupon from the paying taxes page on the Employment Security Department website.
Write your ESD number on each check.

For WA Cares and Paid Leave quarterly reports:

Download the Employer Wage Reporting and Premiums Toolkit from the file and pay page on the Paid Leave website. The payment coupons are in the toolkit.
Write your UBI number on each check.

Mail checks to the correct addresses for each program, found on the payment coupons.

For unemployment tax quarterly report

If you cannot pay your balance owed, ask us about a deferred payment contract. Email our Collections unit at ESCtax@esd.wa.gov.

For Paid Leave and WA Cares quarterly reports

Go to the Paid Leave website to read about how to file reports and pay premiums.

Paid Leave job protection expands in 2026

Starting Jan. 1, 2026, new job protection requirements for employees returning from Paid Leave will apply to all employers with 25 or more employees, even if you have a voluntary plan. Currently, job protection requirements pertain only to employers with 50 or more employees.

New requirements beginning in 2026 for businesses with 25 or more employees

The new law says you need to restore your employees to the same or equivalent job title, pay and benefits, and working conditions if employees both:

Return from Paid Leave on or after Jan. 1, 2026.
Started working at least 180 days before their leave starts.

The new law also requires you to:

Maintain the health insurance of employees on Paid Leave as if they were still working.
Notify your employee after they are on Paid Leave for a total of 14 days about when their job protection will expire and when they are expected to return to work.

And the new law removes the requirement that employees need to work a minimum number of hours before taking leave to get job protection.

You can read the new law on the Washington State Legislature website.

Please note: Read about our business sizing calculation in this newsletter. That calculation is not used to determine job protection requirements. If you had 25 or more Washington employees at any point in the current or preceding calendar year, you are considered to have met the size requirement for job protection.

More resources coming soon

Throughout the rest of the year, we’ll share more information and links that will help your business get ready for changes happening in 2026:

Job protection examples and templates.
Guidance about managing job protection when an employee is also using FMLA (Family Medical Leave Act).
Small business assistance grants that can help with costs related to these law changes.
Reduced requirement for missed number of work hours for employees on leave.
The 2026 premium rate, Social Security cap and weekly benefit amount. We will announce these later this month on the Paid Leave website updates page.

We calculated business sizes on Sept. 30 for 2026

The Paid Family & Medical Leave program calculated business sizes to determine employer premiums and eligibility for grants. To do this, we averaged the employee headcount you reported during the previous four quarters. The average includes reports you filed as "no payroll."

If your business size changed, we will mail you a letter in October to let you know.

If we calculated that you have 50 or more employees, you will be responsible for paying the full Paid Leave premium rate on wages paid Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2026. The full premium rate includes the employer’s and employee’s share. The first report for these premiums will be due in April 2026.
If we calculated that you have fewer than 50 employees, beginning Jan. 1, 2026, you will not be responsible for paying the employer share of premiums. You still need to remit the employee portion.

You may choose to contribute the full premium rate to the program by opting in annually. The enrollment period for calendar year 2026 is open until March 1.

You may also be eligible for Small Business Assistance Grants when you have an employee on Paid Leave. If approved, you will be responsible for paying the full employer premium rate for three years.

Find more information about premium rates and withholding in the Employer Reporting & Premiums Toolkit. Go to the reporting page on the Paid Leave website to download the toolkit.

WA Cares: Automatic exemptions for non-immigrant work visa holders

Beginning Jan. 1, 2026, WA Cares will automatically exempt non-immigrant work visa holders from paying WA Cares premiums.

These customers can still participate in the program if they tell their employer. We will send details about that process later this fall.

Note: Employment Security is no longer approving exemption applications for non-immigrant visa holders. This is because exemption applications approved on or after Oct. 1, 2025, would take effect on Jan. 1, 2026.

The Washington State Legislature passed this update to WA Cares law earlier this year. Read the law on the Washington Legislature website.

The law was based on recommendations made by program representatives at the Employment Security Department, with support from the Long-Term Services and Supports Commission. Read about the LTSS Commission on the WA Cares website.

Help your business and employees during a layoff

You don’t need to manage a layoff by yourself. Get help for you and your workers.

Find a Rapid Response coordinator in your area

“Rapid Response” coordinators in regions throughout the state can help employers, HR leaders and others in your organization to navigate a layoff.

Go to the Washington Workforce Association website to:

Learn what Rapid Response can do for you and your employees.
Find a Rapid Response coordinator in your area.

You also can contact Donna Mack, Statewide Rapid Response Manager at the Employment Security Department. Send an email to donna.mack@esd.wa.gov.

Let SharedWork get you through tough economic times

The SharedWork program can prevent layoffs with the flexibility to retain employees at reduced hours during economic downturns.

Learn more about SharedWork on the Employment Security website.

Helpful information for your employees

Send this helpful flyer (PDF, 156KB) to your employees or print and post in a visible spot at your workplace.

It explains how to find unemployment benefit information on the Employment Security website.

Build internships that strengthen your workforce

Learn how employers across Washington – including Boeing, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center and Wagstaff, Inc., use internships to build strong workforce pipelines — and how to make them pay off.