EMERGENCY RULES
Effective Date of Rule: Immediately.
Purpose: SSB 5963 was signed by the governor on May 14, 2009. Section 4 of that bill, which amends RCW 50.22.010 relating to the payment of extended benefits, took effect immediately upon signature. These rules clarify the payment of extended benefits in coordination with emergency unemployment compensation currently being paid under federal law.
Statutory Authority for Adoption: RCW 50.12.010, 50.12.040, and 50.20.010.
Under RCW 34.05.350 the agency for good cause finds that immediate adoption, amendment, or repeal of a rule is necessary for the preservation of the public health, safety, or general welfare, and that observing the time requirements of notice and opportunity to comment upon adoption of a permanent rule would be contrary to the public interest.
Reasons for this Finding: Section 4 of SSB 5963 is effective May 14, 2009, and makes changes to eligibility criteria for extended benefits. The rules are necessary to determine how payment of these benefits will be coordinated with the payment of emergency unemployment compensation under federal law.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 3, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted at Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's Own Initiative: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted Using Negotiated Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Pilot Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Date Adopted: May 20, 2009.
Karen T. Lee
Commissioner
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(1) Except as provided in subsection 4 of this section, you may not be paid twice for the same week
(2) If your new weekly benefit amount is equal to the amount you were paid for the weeks at issue, the amount you were paid in emergency unemployment compensation or extended benefits will be deducted from the maximum benefits payable on your new claim.
Example: Your previous weekly benefit amount was five hundred dollars. You received emergency unemployment compensation for eight weeks at this amount when it was discovered you were eligible for a new claim in the amount of five hundred dollars. The five hundred dollars paid for eight weeks will be deducted from the maximum benefits payable on your new claim.
(3) If your new weekly benefit amount is lower than the amount you were paid for the weeks at issue, the amount you were paid in emergency unemployment compensation or extended benefits that is equivalent to the weekly benefit amount on your new claim will be deducted from the maximum benefits payable on your new claim. The difference between the amounts paid in emergency unemployment compensation or extended benefits for the week(s) at issue and the weekly benefit amount on your new claim will be waived as provided in RCW 50.20.190.
Example: Your previous weekly benefit amount was five hundred dollars. You received emergency unemployment compensation for eight weeks at this amount when it was discovered you were eligible for a new claim in the amount of three hundred-fifty dollars. The three hundred-fifty dollars for eight weeks will be deducted from the maximum benefits payable on your new claim. The one hundred-fifty dollar difference between your previous weekly benefit amount and your new weekly benefit amount will be waived.
(4) If your new weekly benefit amount is higher than the amount you were paid for the week(s) at issue, the amount you were paid in emergency unemployment compensation or extended benefits will be supplemented so that you receive your new weekly benefit amount for the weeks at issue and the total deducted from the maximum benefits payable on your new claim.
For example: Your previous weekly benefit amount was three hundred-fifty dollars. You received emergency unemployment compensation for eight weeks at this amount when it was discovered you were eligible for a new claim in the amount of five hundred dollars. You will be paid an additional one hundred-fifty dollars for each of the eight weeks at issue and the total deducted from the maximum benefits payable on your new claim.
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Example: You receive regular unemployment benefits for twenty weeks at $200 and $245 for the remaining six weeks. The maximum benefits payable on your claim is $5,470. Your weekly benefit amount for extended benefits will be $245. The maximum extended benefits payable will be $2,735 which is the lesser of fifty percent of $5,470 or thirteen times $222.5 ($200 + $245 divided by 2, the average of both weekly benefit amounts, or $2,892).
(b) When the state is in a high unemployment period as defined in RCW 50.22.010(3), the maximum amount of extended benefits payable will be the lesser of eighty percent of the total regular unemployment compensation paid to you for the benefit year or twenty times the average weekly benefit amount paid during your benefit year.
(2) For purposes of this section, "average" means the average of the two weekly benefit amounts paid during your benefit year.
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