Reasons Why Rules on this Subject may be Needed and What They Might Accomplish: If a claimant receives a conditional payment of unemployment benefits, the claimant must repay the benefits that were conditionally paid if it is determined the claimant should not have received those benefits. The commissioner has issued a precedential decision (In re Del Mundo, Empl. Sec. Comm'r Dec.2d 1023 (2018)) that holds that the definition of "conditional payment" only applies to "eligibility" issues, such as whether the claimant was able to work, and does not apply to "disqualification" issues, such as whether the claimant voluntarily quit without good cause. Rule making is necessary to clarify the department's intention that the definition of "conditional payments" applies to any issue concerning whether the claimant is legally entitled to benefits, including both "eligibility" and "disqualification" issues.

Other Federal and State Agencies that Regulate this Subject and the Process Coordinating the Rule with These Agencies: The United States Department of Labor (USDOL) reviews the state's administration of the unemployment insurance program to ensure conformity to federal statutes and regulations. The state has broad flexibility in the implementation of the unemployment insurance laws so long as conformity is maintained. The proposed regulations will be shared with USDOL prior to adoption.

Process for Developing New Rule: The proposed rule will be shared with stakeholders as identified through the standard rule-making process. The department will solicit input and consider all comments in the development of the final rule.

Interested parties can participate in the decision to adopt the new rule and formulation of the proposed rule before publication by contacting Josh Dye, P.O. Box 9046, phone 360-890-3472, fax 844-652-7096, TTY relay 711, email rules@esd.wa.gov, website https://esd.wa.gov/newsroom/rulemaking/benefits.