November 2025 | Issue 69
Important snail mail headed your way:
Watch for your annual unemployment tax rate notice
Each December, we send employers an annual unemployment tax rate
notice. We send the printed notice via the U.S. Postal Service. Go to the Employment Security Department website to learn more about how we determine tax rates.
When you receive this notice, please remember to update your
unemployment tax filing software. Or provide a copy of your tax rate notice
to your bookkeeper, CPA or third-party representative so your business uses
the correct rate for filing 2026 quarterly reports.
Reminder: Unemployment benefits call center hours adjusted for 90-day pilot
As of Oct. 28, unemployment benefits call center hours have been adjusted. You can call the unemployment call center with questions about claims at these times:
- Monday, Wednesday, Friday: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. (normal hours).
- Tuesday and Thursday: 8 a.m. to noon (adjusted hours).
Please note that hours for the unemployment tax office and Paid Leave
Customer Care have not changed. For up-to-date information, visit our
contact us page.
As noted in Employment Security’s special edition employer newsletter, this pilot allows staff to focus on reducing the current unemployment claims backlog. Demand for unemployment benefits continues to rise with private-sector layoffs, seasonal workers applying for benefits, the federal government shutdown and claimants staying on
unemployment longer.
What to know about Paid Leave in 2026
2026 premium rate
The premium rate will increase to 1.13% of each employee’s gross wages, excluding tips. Employers will pay 28.57% of the total premium and employees will pay 71.43%. On Jan. 1, 2026, start collecting the new premium rate each pay period from your employees’ total gross wages, not including tips. Once an employee meets the Social Security cap, you need to stop collecting premiums but continue to report their wages. The Social Security cap for 2026 will increase to $184,500.
Job protection
Starting Jan. 1, 2026, most employers in Washington state with 25 or more employees must provide job protection to eligible employees taking Paid Leave.
Health care benefits
Clarifies when employers are required to maintain health care benefits for employees taking job-protected Paid Leave.
Paid Leave and FMLA concurrence
Provides information to help employers manage job protection when an employee is eligible for both Paid Leave and FMLA.
Weekly claim minimums
Reduces from 8 hours to 4 hours the minimum amount of time an employee must miss in a week to be eligible for Paid Leave.
Small business assistance grants
Expands Paid Leave's grant program and improves the application process for small businesses. Employers with fewer than 50 employees can apply for a $3,000 grant to help cover costs incurred while employees use Paid Leave.
Stay tuned! We’ll have more resources — including new IRS guidance — on the Paid Leave website before the end of the year. Find previous announcements about these updates in the newsletter archive on the Employment Security website.
Have a specific question for our employer services team? We’re available Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at 833-717-2273. Follow the prompts to get to the “employer reporting, premiums and employer responsibilities” queue.
Mark your calendars! We're hosting a webinar for employers about upcoming changes to Employment Security programs in 2026. Registration link and more info to come next week.
When: Wednesday, December 10, 1-2 p.m.
SharedWork:
an option for employers facing economic setback
The SharedWork program can help employers prevent layoffs with the
flexibility to retain employees at reduced hours during economic downturns.
Go to the Employment Security website to learn more about SharedWork.
Program benefits
- Employers keep their workforce intact during an economic setback.
- Employees keep their job and get a prorated percentage of
unemployment benefits.
- Open to most businesses and industries.
- Improves employee morale.
- Applying is easy! It takes only about 10 minutes.
Go to our website to register for a free monthly webinar about the program.
WARN letters now available for download on Employment Security website
You now have access to worker adjustment and retraining notification (WARN) letters that employers submit to Employment Security to announce a layoff.
The notices are now published on our WARN database webpage.
Previously, anyone wanting to read a WARN letter needed to submit a public records request. We are pleased to announce these copies are now available online for quick access.
The federal and state WARN laws require companies planning a mass layoff to notify workers 60 days before the closure. The WARN Act applies in some —but not all — situations when an employer closes a worksite, does a mass layoff, or even reduces hours. Companies must provide written notice to us and the chief elected official of the community where the layoff or closure will occur.
Go to the WARN requirements page on the Employment Security website to read about when you are required to submit a WARN.
New email address for WARN notices
The email address where you submit the notice has changed. Send us a copy of the notice to ESDGPLayoffAssistance@esd.wa.gov. Please include "WARN" in the subject line.
Blog series features videos to help claimants
successfully manage unemployment benefits
To help claimants with key steps in the benefits process, we recently
published on the Employment Security website a series of blogs with short how-to videos. The tutorials are available in English and Spanish:
Please share these resources with your employees. You are also welcome
to send this helpful flyer (PDF, 156KB) to them or print and post in
a visible spot at your workplace. It explains how to find unemployment
benefit information on the Employment Security website.
Find our contact information
Any time you need to respond to a notice from Employment Security, please be sure to use the phone number on that notice to reach the right team. If you do not contact the right team, we are not able to forward your call. Instead, we will give you the correct number to call.
If you have other questions related to unemployment taxes or benefits, about Paid Leave or WA Cares reporting, SharedWork and more, reach out!
Find contact information by topic on the Employment Security website.
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Find past issues in the archive on the Employment Security website.
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