Having trouble viewing this email? View it as a Web page.

July 10, 2026/Issue 77 

In this issue

• Quarterly reports due this month.
• How to avoid penalties.
• About your Paid Leave, WA Cares employer account.
• Building your business: a free webinar for small businesses, creating a workplace inclusive to people with disabilities, building a talent pipeline.

Reports due this month

Submit your Q2 2026 reports

Q2 2026 reports and payments for the Unemployment, Paid Leave and WA Cares programs are due by July 31.

Remember

• If you had no payroll for the quarter, file a “No payroll” report.
• Submit any missing reports or payments.
• Mail Paid Leave and WA Cares checks to the correct addresses for each program, found on the payment coupons. Sending your payment to the wrong address can cause processing delays.
• For Tribes in Washington: You can but are not required to report SOC codes on your unemployment reports. 

Tips for filing quarterly unemployment tax reports

Avoid common mistakes. Go to the Employment Security website for details about filing quarterly tax and wage reports.

Check with your third-party company, if you use one 

Make sure your third-party company has: 

• Your 2026 tax rate. 
• A current list of people in your company exempt from wage reporting. 
• An SOC code or job title for each employee being reported. 

What you pay unemployment taxes on 

You pay unemployment taxes on your employees’ gross wages up to the taxable wage base. Learn about taxable wages on the Employment Security website.  

Tips for filing Paid Leave and WA Cares quarterly reports 

Pay separately for WA Cares and Paid Leave

• Use the premiums estimator on the Paid Leave website to estimate the amount to remit.
• You can pay Paid Leave and WA Cares premiums by ACH, credit or debit card, check or money order. Write your UBI number on each check.
• Include the correct payment coupon for each program. Download the Employer Wage Reporting and Premiums Toolkit from the Paid Leave website. Payment coupons are in the toolkit.
• Mail checks to the correct addresses for each program, found on the payment coupons.

Record your employees' WA Cares exemptions

Employees need to inform you if they have an active WA Cares exemption by giving you a copy of their approval letter from Employment Security. Once notified, you need to:

• Keep a copy of their approval letter on file.
• Not deduct WA Cares premiums from their wages.
• Mark them as “exempt” on your quarterly report for WA Cares.

Optional: Add an end-of-quarter employee count

You can submit end-of-quarter employee counts for your processed Paid Leave quarterly reports, beginning with Q1 2026. If you give us counts, we will use this information when we calculate your business size on Sept. 30. Find more information for small businesses on the Paid Leave website.

More help with reporting

Paid Leave, Unemployment

Avoid penalties 

We want to help you stay current with your Paid Leave and Unemployment reports and avoid penalties.

If you owe $5 or more in past-due Paid Leave premiums or Unemployment taxes, we send a statement to your business mailing address.

Paid Leave

Paid Leave penalties and interest will apply to reports and premiums starting from Q2 2026. We will start assessing fees on late reports Aug. 1, 2026, and will apply a 1% monthly interest charge to overdue premium balances.

Log into your employer account to review your reporting history and current balance, then submit missing reports or payments. While logged in, please review and update your address if needed.

Read more about billing statements and late fees on the Paid Leave website.

Unemployment  

Find all details about filing Unemployment reports on our website.

We assess penalties on all quarterly Unemployment tax and wage reports that are late, incomplete or incorrect. We also assess:

• Penalties on overdue tax balances: 5% the first and second months and 10% the third month.
• Interest on unpaid tax balances at 1% each month until the balance is paid.

To avoid mistakes, file your reports online. The software tells you if information is missing. If you do not file online, request our correct paper forms. Send us an email at taxforms@esd.wa.gov or call us at 855-829-9243.

Every quarter, make sure you report each employee’s:

• Full name.
• Social Security number.
• Total hours worked.
• Total gross wages.
• SOC code or job title. (Tribes in Washington can but are not required to report SOC codes.)

We will assess a penalty if you knowingly do not report this information. If your payroll software, payroll service provider or third-party company does not report any of these, you may be entitled to a waiver.

Read more about penalties on the Employment Security website.

Paid Leave, WA Cares Fund

Create and manage your Paid Leave and WA Cares employer account

Your employer account allows you to manage all aspects of how your business interacts with Paid Leave and WA Cares. Once you create an account and complete the PIN process, you can: Add and edit contacts, users and POAs. Amend wage reports. Apply for small business assistance grants. View account balances, and more. For tips on how to set up and gain full access to your account, visit our new webpages on the Paid Leave website: Create your employer account (English, Spanish). Manage your employer account (English, Spanish). Visit the Paid Leave Help Center for downloadable resources, such as our employer toolkits and power of attorney guides.

Building your business

Free webinar for small businesses

Join Washington's Small Business Liaison Team for a webinar. Representatives from several state agencies will cover: Main regulatory requirements for operating a business in Washington state. Many free or low-cost resources available. Join us from 1 to 2 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 4.

Learn about other webinars offered by the state's Small Business Liaison Team on the business.wa.gov website.

Build a workplace that includes employees with disabilities

Disability Pride Month in July honors disability identity, culture and community. This month also marks the anniversary of the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), a foundational civil rights law protecting people with disabilities. Both celebrations challenge employers to build workplaces where disabled employees feel valued and supported. Disabled employees are already part of your workforce More than one in four U.S. adults — over 70 million people — have a disability, visible or not.  Disability Pride Month reminds us that workplaces become stronger, more creative and more equitable when employers help employees with disabilities belong and contribute. According to research published on the Accenture website (PDF, 3MB), companies that hire people with disabilities “realized 1.6 times more revenue, 2.6 times more net income, and 2 times more economic profit.” What you can do to nurture a culture of belonging Here are meaningful ways your company’s leaders can help — this month and all year. Listen Create time and space for employees with disabilities to share their experiences, needs and ideas. Listening builds trust and reveals barriers you might not see. Challenge ableism Ableism is a belief that people with disabilities should be devalued or “fixed” in some way. You can help by addressing stereotypes, biased language and assumptions about productivity or professionalism. Model inclusive behavior in meetings, evaluations and team communication. Strengthen accessibility and accommodations Review your policies and practices: Ensure digital documents are written in plain language and accessible to employees with visual disabilities. Offer flexible work arrangements. Make accommodation processes simple, fast and stigma free. Audit physical spaces for accessibility gaps. Amplify the voices of employees with disabilities Highlight employees with disabilities who are leaders, creators and innovators. Support employee resource groups. Get help Consult with the Governor’s Committee on Disability Issues & Employment (GCDE) about your workplace. Find the GCDE on the Employment Security website. Reach them at gcde@esd.wa.gov.

How one industry built its own talent pipeline: Learn from their example

Your business might not be in the financial sector, but you can learn from how the Washington Bankers Association (WBA) built its own talent pipeline. Many Washington employers in finance are struggling to find entry-level talent with the right skills. So, the WBA decided to try a long-term approach to building a trained workforce. By partnering with K–12 schools, training providers and Career Connect Washington, WBA is helping employers: Build early talent pipelines through high school programs. Access trained, job-ready candidates. Reduce onboarding and recruitment costs. Strengthen workforce diversity. Go to the Partnership for Learning website to learn how they did it. Employers play a critical role in building the future workforce. Learn more: Partnership for Learning website – the education foundation of the Washington Roundtable. Washington Roundtable website – public policy nonprofit comprising senior executives of major private sector employers. Career Connect Washington – work-based learning opportunities in 10 high- demand sectors.

Find our contact information

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. 

Share and subscribe

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.