AN ACT Relating to notice to striking workers applying for unemployment insurance benefits of potential overpayment assessment upon receipt of retroactive wages; amending RCW 50.20.092; and creating a new section.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

Sec. 1. RCW 50.20.092 and 2025 c 352 s 5 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) If an individual receives benefits under this title while being unemployed due to a strike at the separating employer's factory, establishment, or other premises and the individual subsequently receives retroactive wages from the separating employer for any week for which he or she received benefits under this title, the department shall issue an overpayment assessment to recover the corresponding benefits as provided under RCW 50.20.190.

(2) When an individual applies for benefits pursuant to RCW 50.20.090 due to a strike at the separating employer's factory, establishment, or other premises, the department shall notify the applicant of the potential for an overpayment assessment if retroactive wages are received. The notice may be provided by the department through an acknowledgment box in the online application process, a letter to the applicant, or another method reasonably determined by the department to provide notice to the applicant.

(3) This section expires December 31, 2035.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. If any part of this act is found to be in conflict with federal requirements that are a prescribed condition to the allocation of federal funds to the state or the eligibility of employers in this state for federal unemployment tax credits, the conflicting part of this act is inoperative solely to the extent of the conflict, and the finding or determination does not affect the operation of the remainder of this act. Rules adopted under this act must meet federal requirements that are a necessary condition to the receipt of federal funds by the state or the granting of federal unemployment tax credits to employers in this state.

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