Information for Washington State Employers Following Delay of WA Cares Law

​Last month, Washington Gov. Inslee signed a bill that delays parts of WA Cares implementation by 18 months. Most immediately, premium collection for WA Cares won’t begin until July 2023. The Employment Security Department (ESD) won’t accept any WA Cares premium payments for the first quarter of 2022. Here is what employers in the state need to know.

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Newly updated information and guidance is available on the WA Cares website. For now, employers should:

• Stop withholding WA Cares premiums from employee earnings.
• Reimburse employees for WA Cares premiums within 120 days of the date premiums were collected.
• Continue to maintain copies of exemption approval letters for workers who’ve provided them.