Review the following information and resources from the Employment Security Department (ESD) April 2023 newsletter. 

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WA Cares: Find the resources you need

Prepare for WA Cares contributions and exemptions

Are your employees ready for the WA Cares Fund launch in July? Check out our updated toolkit for materials and resources. This month, we recommend that you send an email to your staff using the toolkit’s monthly newsletter content for April, which covers the 5 most frequently asked questions about the program.

If you have employees who may qualify for an exemption, encourage them to submit their application to ESD as soon as possible. Refunds will not be available if workers don’t submit their application in time, so make sure your employees are prepared!

Paid Leave: It's time to report for Quarter 1

Quarter 1 reporting takes place in April.

1. Log in to your Paid Leave account.
2. Submit your report and payment if you had payroll for this quarter.
3. Before you log out:
• Review your reports under the Wage Submission History tab.
• Check if you have rejected reports that need attention.
• Make sure a report has been submitted and successfully processed for each quarter you had payroll.
• Check to see if you have a balance or credit on your account under the Payments tab.

New to reporting? Learn more about employer reporting and our filing templates to get started. You will need to create an employer account.

Unemployment Insurance (UI): We're changing the way we use SSNs

If necessary, update your files or software

We’re changing the way we use Social Security numbers in emails, letters and other correspondence.

This change will start by July 1. In most cases, ESD will use the last four digits of a Social Security number to identify an employee or customer.

The change comes as result of House Bill 1455, which requires ESD to use other personal identifiers in its correspondence to prevent identify theft. We will still collect Social Security numbers – the law changes only how we share them.

If you think this change might affect your business processes, forms, files or software, please make the necessary updates. You do not need to contact us.

To learn more about how Employment Security Department manages information, check out our privacy statement.