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In this issue
- Paid Leave statements mailed soon.
- WA Cares webinar for employers.
- Labor market reports made easy.
- SharedWork: helping to prevent layoffs.
- Nominating your business for a YesVets award.
- And more.
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We’ll mail Paid Leave premium balance statements this spring
New this spring: We’ll mail Paid Leave statements to let you know if you have any premiums owed. These statements will help you stay current with your reports and premium payments — and avoid unnecessary costs in the future when we start assessing penalties and interest.
To ensure timely delivery of your statement, please log in to your employer account to:
- Check that your business mailing address and email address are correct. You can make changes to this information at any time.
- Review your premium reporting history and current balance. Reports are due every quarter, even if you do not have payroll. Please submit any missing reports or payments.
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If you have questions about your statement or account
You can contact us by email or phone.
- Email paidleave@esd.wa.gov. To get you to the right team, include in the subject line “UBI” followed by your nine-digit UBI number. Or include “BUSINESS” followed by your business name.
- Call us Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at 833-717-2273. Follow the prompts to get into the “employer reporting, premiums and employer responsibilities” queue.
More Paid Leave and WA Cares updates
Collective bargaining agreement or CBA
As of Dec. 31, 2025, workers previously excluded due to CBA provisions now participate in both programs. Learn more on the Paid Leave website about collecting premiums and reporting for employees covered by a CBA.
Non-immigrant work visa holders
As of Jan. 1, 2026, non-immigrant work visa holders are automatically exempt from paying WA Cares premiums. Employment Security is no longer accepting exemption applications for non-immigrant work visa holders. In most circumstances, employees will still be subject to the Paid Leave premium. Go to the WA Cares website to learn how the fund works.
Small business assistance grants
Grants provide up to $3,000 to help cover costs associated with employees who take approved Paid Leave. Download our new application checklist from the Paid Leave small business webpage to make sure you have the information you need to apply.
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Join us for a webinar: "WA Cares for Self-Employed Workers"
If you’re self-employed, you can choose to elect coverage and protect yourself with the same affordable benefits available to other Washington workers.
You need to elect coverage by June 30, 2026, or within three years of becoming self-employed for the first time. Attend a free webinar from 10 to 11 a.m. Wednesday, March 25, to find out more.
In the webinar, presenters from Employment Security and the Department of Social & Health Services will cover:
- How the program works.
- How we define a self-employed worker.
- Creating an elective coverage account.
- How to opt-in.
- Reporting requirements.
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Live captioning and interpretation will be available. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email with information about joining the webinar.
Go to the WA Cares website to see the full schedule of webinars and past recordings.
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Find labor market information easier
We are excited to announce our updated labor market report library webpage on the Employment Security website. We designed the updated webpage to give you a better experience.
Easily find quarterly labor market briefings, wage trends, reports on the economy and much more. Instead of needing to be familiar with each report, you’ll find reports grouped into topics of interest.
Now you can quickly see:
- Which reports and publications will help you learn more about a topic.
- What each topic covers, grouped into subjects.
- How you can use each file, so you’ll know what’s in each report or publication before you open or download it.
If you have questions about the reports or publications, please reach out to your regional labor economist. Find their contact information on the Employment Security website.
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
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Employers keep their workforce intact during an economic setback.
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Employees keep their job and get a prorated percentage of unemployment benefits.
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Open to most businesses and industries.
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Improves employee morale.
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Applying is easy! It takes only about 10 minutes.
Go to our website to register for a free monthly webinar about the program.
Nominate your business for a YesVets Award
If you hire veterans, Washington wants to honor you for your efforts!
The state Hire-A-Vet Employer of the Year Award recognizes businesses and organizations that go above and beyond to hire veterans.
We encourage you to nominate your own business for this YesVets award. Read about the YesVets program on the Employment Security website. Submit a nomination form by April 15.
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To be eligible
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You must be registered for the Washington YesVets program. If you are not yet a YesVets employer, it's easy and free to sign up at YesVets.org.
- You must have hired at least one veteran during calendar year 2024 or 2025.
- 7% of your 2025 hires are veterans.
As an alternative to the 2025 7% hiring goal, you could meet all these requirements:
- You retained for at least 12 months 75% of veterans hired in 2024.
- 7% of all your employees are veterans.
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You have made specific efforts to support veterans and veteran families in your community in the past year.
The benefits of YesVets
We give YesVets employers priority invitations to job fairs and choice booth placement.
And if you win an award
You receive statewide recognition as a Hire-a-Vet Employer of the Year!
Free virtual and in-person events for small businesses
Prepare for the new retirement savings program coming in 2027!
Washington Saves is a new state-sponsored retirement savings program scheduled to open in July 2027. Certain employers will be required by law to
make the program available to their employees if they don’t already offer a qualified retirement plan.
See if the mandate applies to your business by visiting the employers page on the Washington Saves website.
The program offers an easy-to-use experience for both employers and
employees. Simply register, update employees and set up payroll
contributions. Washington Saves takes care of the rest!
What you should know
- No employer fees.
- No employer contributions.
- No fiduciary liability for employers.
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A private company manages investments, with oversight from a public
governing board.
- Employees control their own accounts and can opt out anytime.
Why the state created Washington Saves
More than 1.2 million Washingtonians do not have a way to save
for retirement through work. Washington Saves gives people access to
portable Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) funded through automatic
payroll contributions.
Learn more about Washington Saves
Stay connected as the program develops.
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Any time you need to respond to a notice from Employment Security, please 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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This monthly newsletter contains important information for Washington employers.
If it is useful for others in your organization, such as a third party administrator, please forward and encourage them to subscribe.
Find past issues on the Employment Security website.
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