Unemployment Insurance—Generally. The unemployment insurance (UI) system, administered by the Employment Security Department (ESD), is designed to provide partial wage replacement for unemployed workers. Eligible unemployed workers receive benefits based on their earnings in their base year, which is typically the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters. A person who is seeking benefits—claimant—is eligible if the person:
Good Cause Quits. A claimant may voluntarily quit and maintain eligibility for benefits only under one of 12 specifically permitted good cause circumstances, also referred to as voluntary quits. This includes, for example, quitting due to illness or disability, or quitting due to safety issues that were unaddressed by the employer.
It is good cause to quit if the separation was necessary because of the illness or disability of the claimant or the death, illness, or disability of an immediate family member. Under this circumstance, the claimant must have:
Suitable Work. To be considered available for work, a claimant must be ready, able, and willing to accept any suitable work. Suitable work is employment in an occupation in keeping with the claimant's prior work experience, education, and training. Other criteria apply if the claimant has no work experience. In determining whether work is suitable, ESD must consider certain factors.
Benefit Charging. Most employers pay contributions to finance benefits. An employer's tax rate is experience rated so that the rate is determined, in part, by the benefits paid to its employees. By default, benefits are proportionally charged to base-year employers according to the amount of wages paid to the person by each employer in the person's base year compared to the wages paid by all employers. However, state law directs some benefits to be charged only to the separating employer, while directing others not to be charged to any employer. A contribution-paying employer may also request relief of certain benefit charges, including for those paid to a person who last left the employment voluntarily for reasons not attributable to the employer. Benefits not directly charged to any employer are pooled within the UI system or socialized, meaning the costs are evenly shared by all employers participating in the system.
The 2020 SB 5473 directed ESD to study and prepare a report on the law surrounding voluntary quits in Washington, including the impacts to the UI trust fund and the contribution rates of employers if the law was amended to allow UI benefits for individuals who leave work voluntarily related to inaccessible care for a child or vulnerable adult, change in job duties or working conditions, and relocation by a minor child; and if the benefits were not charged to the employers' experience rating accounts.
Additional Good Cause Quits for Unemployment Insurance. Additional circumstances where a person may voluntarily quit for good cause are established.
Death, Illness, or Disability of Family Member or Caregiving Inaccessible. Beginning September 3, 2023, a claimant has good cause and is not disqualified from benefits when separation from employment was necessary because of the death, illness, or disability of a family member, rather than immediate family only. Beginning July 7, 2024 and through July 8, 2029, a claimant has good cause and is not disqualified from benefits when separation from employment was necessary because the person was unable to access care for a child or a vulnerable adult; and these benefits are not directly charged to contribution-paying employers.
The eligibility criteria for accessing benefits due to a death, illness, or disability are modified, and are also applied to the circumstance involving caregiving inaccessibility. In either circumstance, the claimant must have:
Relocation to Follow Minor Child. Beginning July 7, 2024, a person has good cause and is not disqualified from benefits when the person (1) left work to relocate to follow a minor child who moved outside of the person's labor market, (2) remained employed as long as was reasonable prior to relocating, and (3) had parental rights over the minor child at the time of the job separation. These benefits are not directly charged to contribution-paying employers.
Change in Shift. Beginning July 7, 2024, a person has good cause and is not disqualified from benefits when the person had a regularly scheduled shift or split shift start or end time for the prior 90 calendar days, and the employer, without request by the person and not based on a system of seniority, changes the regularly scheduled shift or split shift start or end time by six or more hours for that shift on a non temporary basis.
Report to the Legislature—Inaccessible Care. By November 1, 2028, ESD must submit a report to the Legislature that details the number of UI benefit claims, the impact on the trust fund and employer experience ratings, and any trends for utilization by industries for claims allowed for separations on or after July 7, 2024, and before July 2, 2028, which were necessary because care for a child or a vulnerable adult in the claimant's care was inaccessible.
PRO: There is a cruel gap in the UI system that is hard for working families. Parents shouldn’t have to choose between providing care for their children or vulnerable adult or keeping their jobs. This will be very impactful for Washington families. It will provide a safety net and will stabilize the economy. The change is intended for a schedule changes of at least 6 hours. Forty-seven other states allow for this. Washington has one of the most restrictive systems for voluntary quits.
CON: It is not the responsibility of employers to address these issues though unemployment insurance. This will expand an exclusive list to include items that are not under the control of the employer. This will create a huge drain on the fund.