An unemployed individual (claimant) is eligible to receive unemployment insurance benefits (UI benefits) if the individual: (1) worked at least 680 hours in the base year; (2) was separated from employment through no fault of the claimant's or quit work for good cause; and (3) is able to work, available to work, and is actively searching for suitable work. The Employment Security Department (ESD) administers Washington State's unemployment insurance program.
The federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) was signed into law on March 27, 2020. The CARES Act provided many new and extended UI benefit programs, which ESD administers. One program was the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Program, providing UI benefits to self-employed individuals, workers with insufficient work history, and others who are not eligible for regular state UI benefits. Another program was the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) program, which provided an additional $600 per week of benefits. The FPUC expired at the end of July 2020. The Lost Wages Assistance (LWA) program was authorized through a presidential memorandum signed on August 8, 2020. The LWA program provided an additional $300 per week of benefits for the weeks ending August 1st through 29th and September 5th. Many of the federal CARES Act programs continue through the Continued Assistance for Unemployed Workers Act, which was signed into law on December 27, 2020, for weeks of unemployment after 2020 through March 14, 2021.
During the COVID pandemic, UI claims, including claims under the new federal programs, increased substantially. ESD hired and trained new staff to process claims, including members of the national guard.
The bill as referred to committee not considered.
ESD must create an annual training program to train qualified persons to perform as unemployment insurance claim adjudicators. The program must:
The Office of Financial Management must collaborate with ESD to provide opportunities for state employees, who meet the minimum qualifications to work as unemployment insurance claim adjudicators, to participate in the annual trainings.
By October 1, 2021, and each year thereafter, ESD must provide a report to the Legislature on the number of persons with current adjudicator certifications.
Legislative findings are made.
PRO: This bill would increase the number of adjudicators and expedite claim resolution. No one anticipated the unprecedented surge of volume of the UI claims. There was a lot of unfair criticism of ESD for a situation that no one could have anticipated. The thousands of claims overwhelmed ESD. This was compounded by the international fraud. This further delayed the claims process.
ESD hired hundreds of people. These are skilled positions. Adjudicators resolve disputes. You cannot just walk in off the street and do the work. It a took a long time to build up capacity to meet the demand.
Having a trained, skilled work force ready seems logical. The trained staff could pivot their work to adjudicating UI claims and help with backlogs. This bill is a first step in improving the UI process.
OTHER: ESD had an economic cycle plan based on the Great Recession to prepare for the next downturn. They anticipated doubling the claims adjudicators. This was larger in scale than anticipated. The claim resolution requires trained adjudicators. More highly trained staff are needed to handle complex issues that newly trained staff do not have the skill set to manage. This would create a pool of certified trained people.