I have out-of-state employees. Are they subject to premium assessment and would they be eligible for benefits?

It depends. Paid Leave uses the same localization standards as the federal unemployment insurance program.

If an employee lives out of state but they work entirely in Washington, their work is localized to Washington. They are subject to premium assessment, and if they experience a qualifying event and worked at least 820 hours in the qualifying period, they may be eligible for benefits.

If an employee lives in Washington but their work is performed entirely out of state, the work is localized out of state. You would not withhold premiums from these employees or include them on your quarterly report, and they will not be eligible for benefits.

If an employee’s work cannot be localized to a single state because they perform their work in multiple states throughout the quarter, you may use the location of the employee’s base of operations as the tiebreaker.

For more information on localization, see Unemployment Insurance Program Letter 20-04.