Reporting and paying premiums

These employees are subject to premium assessment as their work is localized to Washington. They would be eligible for benefits if they have a qualifying event and have worked at least 820 hours in Washington during their qualifying period.

In some circumstances, employers can apply for a conditional waiver for employees who work in Washington temporarily.

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.

If you overpay your premiums, you’ll see a credit balance, which is shown as a negative amount on your account balance. Credits are applied toward future premiums unless you request a refund. Ensure you’ve filed reports for all quarters then email paidleave@esd.wa.gov with “Refund Request” as the subject and include the following: 

• Your name 
• Your business name 
• Your UBI number 
• Your phone number 
• Your mailing address 

Contact your financial institution for details on why your payment was rejected. 

• If the payment information was entered incorrectly, log in to your account then click Payments in the top menu bar then Make Payments to submit a new payment with the correct details. 
• If the payment was blocked because of your institution’s debit code filters, email paidleave@esd.wa.gov with “Request for Debit Code Filters” as the subject. 
• If the payment was rejected for insufficient funds, we will charge a non-sufficient funds fee. Ensure you have the appropriate amount of funds in your account then resubmit payment by logging in to your account and clicking Payments in the top menu bar then Make Payments to submit a new payment. 

Your business’s size is calculated on September 30 of each year. It is based on your average employee headcount over the previous four quarters as reflected in the reports you submit quarterly. It is not calculated by full-time equivalent (FTE) positions.

Note: If your business size changes (from small to large, or large to small), we will send a letter in October to the mailing address listed in your Paid Leave account.

If you have not been in business in Washington long enough to report four calendar quarters by September 30, we calculate your business size by averaging the number of employees reported over the quarters for which reporting exists.

The Paid Family and Medical Leave statute doesn’t address this question and it should be addressed to a tax or payroll expert.