Washington Administrative Code

(1) An event occurs if a benefit overpayment is created and the employer or the employer's agent significantly contributed to the overpayment by failing to respond timely or adequately without good cause to the department's written request for information relating to a claim.(2) …

(1) The department may find that good cause exists in certain situations when the employer fails to respond due to an unforeseen event outside of the employer's or employer's agent's control, such as:(a) The death or serious illness of the employer. "Serious illness" includes a r…

For the purposes of this chapter, a written request for information relating to a claim is a paper or electronic transmission by the department requesting information from an employer or an employer's agent.[Statutory Authority: RCW 50.12.010, 50.12.040, 50.20.010, 50.20.230, 50.…

For the purposes of this chapter, the employer's agent is the employer's designated representative responsible for providing information to the department.[Statutory Authority: RCW 50.12.010, 50.12.040, 50.20.010, 50.20.230, 50.20.240, 50.29.021, 50.29.025 and 50.29.062. WSR 21-1…

Benefits paid shall be recoverable to the extent allowable pursuant to RCW 50.20.190 in the event that the decision allowing benefits is ultimately modified or reversed. Benefit credits in an amount equal to the erroneous charges shall be applied to the employer's account for the…

(1) An employer may file a written request for refund of, or adjustment to, incorrectly paid taxes, interest, or penalties within three years of the date they were paid. The commissioner may also make adjustments for incorrectly paid taxes, interest, or penalties within three yea…

RCW 50.29.025 specifies the tax rate that shall be charged to employers who have failed to pay their contributions and who are not in compliance with a deferred payment contract. The tax rate established by that section shall also be assigned to a reimbursable employer (one who m…

(1) Yes. State law permits the department to accept an offer in compromise for less than the full amount owed. For purposes of this chapter, an offer in compromise is referred to as a negotiated settlement.(2) A negotiated settlement of contributions, interest, or penalties due a…

(1) In any revocation action, the department will treat the entire tribe as a single entity. If any tribal entity or unit becomes delinquent, the entire tribe will be treated as delinquent. If any entity of the tribe is a contribution-paying employer and is delinquent, the entire…

(1) A copy of any notice of payment or reporting delinquency required by RCW 50.50.050, issued to a tribe or tribal unit, will be provided to the tribal chairperson and to such other person(s) designated by the tribe or tribal unit.(2) The tribe will be responsible for notifying …

The following words and phrases as used in this chapter shall have the meanings set forth in this section unless the context otherwise requires:(1) "Effective date of temporary total disability," for the purpose of establishing a base year, shall be Sunday of the week in which th…

The special provisions of chapter 50.06 RCW will not be available to individuals when:(1) The injury or illness results to an individual from the deliberate intention of the individual to produce such injury or illness;(2) The injury or illness is incurred while the individual is…

In the event a claimant fails to apply for initial determination within the time period prescribed by RCW 50.06.030 (1) and (2), a late filing shall be accepted for good cause shown.[Statutory Authority: RCW 50.12.010 and 50.12.040. WSR 94-07-115, § 192-34-020, filed 3/21/94, eff…

Two or more separate injuries or illnesses, resulting in two or more separate periods of temporary total disability, may not be combined or joined. A unique base year and benefit year shall be established for each injury or illness pursuant to chapter 50.06 RCW.[Statutory Authori…

The department's audit expansion requirements are as follows:(1) If underreported or overreported wages for employees are discovered for the year being audited, the department may expand the audit to prior years within the limits of RCW 50.24.190 and to subsequent years up to the…

If an employer fails or refuses to provide necessary payroll or other wage information during an audit, the department may use RCW 50.12.080 to determine payroll and wage information based on information otherwise available to the department. This may include information from lab…

If an employer knowingly misrepresents its payroll to the department, it shall be liable for the reasonable expenses of auditing its books and collecting taxes. These may include:(1) Salaries and benefits based on the payrolls documented for state staff conducting the audit (incl…

"Application base" means either the first fifteen applications for vendor in good standing received, or all applications for vendor in good standing received during the first twelve months of the program, whichever is greater at the time an application is being considered."Integr…

The state use advisory committee hereinafter referred to as the SUAC, is established within the governor's committee on disability issues and employment (GCDE). The SUAC shall have the following composition:(1) Three members chosen by GCDE from among those current or former clien…

The SUAC shall hold its regular public meeting annually in December. Additional public meetings may be held at such times and places as the board may deem necessary. Notice of all public meetings will be issued as required by the Open Public Meetings Act, chapter 42.30 RCW.Execut…

The application for listing as a vendor in good standing must be submitted on forms approved by the SUAC and shall be accompanied by additional documentation as follows:(1) Applications from community rehabilitation programs must be accompanied by:(a) A document issued by the dep…

Applications must be accompanied by the annual application fee of five hundred dollars. The application fee is nonrefundable.[Statutory Authority: RCW 50.12.040. WSR 05-02-094, § 192-35-050, filed 1/5/05, effective 2/5/05.]

Applicants will be listed as vendors in good standing for a period of one year beginning on the date of final determination of eligibility to be so listed: Unless, prior to the end of that period, the applicant requests in writing to be removed from that listing; or is found to b…

The governor's committee on disability issues and employment will provide written notice when it has determined that an applicant failed to demonstrate that it has met the eligibility criteria for a vendor in good standing. The written notice shall include the basis for that dete…

The commissioner adopts RCW 34.05.482 through 34.05.494 for the administration of brief adjudicative proceedings conducted by request pursuant to subsection (1) of this section or at the discretion of the commissioner pursuant to RCW 34.05.482.(1) If an adjudicative proceeding is…

(1) Brief adjudicative proceedings shall be conducted by a presiding officer appointed by the commissioner or designee in accordance with RCW 34.05.485. The presiding officer for brief adjudicative proceedings shall have agency expertise in the subject matter but must not have pe…

The preliminary record with respect to an application must consist of:(1) The application and all associated documents; and(2) All documents relied upon by the state use advisory committee in proposing to deny the application; and(3) All correspondence between the applicant and t…

(1) Within thirty working days following the issuance of an initial written order, any party, including the department, may file a written appeal of that order with the deputy commissioner.(2) The deputy commissioner will review the record of the brief adjudicative proceedings un…

(1) At least five working days before the scheduled brief adjudicative proceeding, any party, including the department, may file a written objection to resolution of a matter by a brief adjudicative proceeding and may request that a matter be converted to a formal adjudicative he…

(1) This section applies only to those individuals and organizations that meet the definition of an employer contained in RCW 50.04.080.(2) A predecessor-successor relationship exists when a transfer occurs and one business (successor) acquires all or part of another business (pr…

The following examples are intended to illustrate factors that the department may consider in determining whether or not a predecessor-successor relationship exists. (1) Business A, a sole proprietor widget manufacturer, sells its operations to new business B, a corporation. B pl…

When operating assets are transferred from one employer to another by using an intermediary whose role is to arrange or assist the transfer process (RCW 50.04.320 and 50.29.062), the department will decide on a case-by-case basis whether a predecessor-successor relationship exist…

(1) A predecessor or partial predecessor that quits or disposes of a business is liable for unemployment taxes under RCW 50.24.210. The predecessor or partial predecessor may give notice through the master business license; otherwise, it shall notify the department in writing wit…

(1) A successor or partial successor may be liable for unemployment taxes under RCW 50.24.210.(2) A successor or partial successor may notify the department through the business license application that it bought, leased, or acquired all or part of an existing business. Otherwise…

(1) Thirty days after mailing a request for information to an employer regarding a predecessor-successor relationship, the department may determine if a predecessor-successor relationship exists based on the information available at that time.(2) The department may send a letter …

(1) Under RCW 50.29.062(1), if the successor is an employer at the time of the transfer of a business, the successor's tax rate shall remain unchanged for the rest of the calendar year. Beginning on January 1 of the year after the transfer and until the successor qualifies for it…

The department will determine the percentage of operating assets transferred primarily by considering employees transferred. The department will first consider the number of employees transferred, but may also consider the total salaries and wages involved in the transfer and oth…

For purposes of RCW 50.24.210, an employer is considered to have quit business or disposed of its business or stock of goods if it disposes of substantially all of its operating assets. An employer is also considered to have quit business or disposed of its business or stock of g…

(1) Congress enacted the "SUTA Dumping Act of 2004" to establish nationwide minimum standards for curbing unlawful manipulation of unemployment taxes by employers. "SUTA" stands for state unemployment tax acts. Federal law describes "SUTA dumping" as the practice by some employer…

(1) In order to prove SUTA dumping, the department must prove by a preponderance of the evidence that:(a) A business is a successor or partial successor to a predecessor business under WAC 192-350-010; and(b) A significant purpose for the transfer of a business was to obtain a lo…

If the department determines that there was intent to knowingly evade successorship or knowingly promote the evasion of successorship provisions, it may assess penalties under RCW 50.29.063 (2) and (3).[Statutory Authority: RCW 50.12.010, 50.12.040, and 50.29.064. WSR 07-23-131, …

The department shall use employee information received through notices required under RCW 49.45.020 to administer the Employment Security Act for the benefit of those affected by a business closure or mass layoff. This includes:(1) Facilitating prompt access to information and su…

(1) For purposes of RCW 50.40.073, a county establishes that it has an active accessible community advisory committee by submitting a letter of assurance to the governor's committee on disability issues and employment containing the following:(a) Submittal by the county legislati…

(1) For travel, per diem, and accommodation expenses to be eligible for reimbursement from this fund, the accessible community advisory committee meeting or sponsored activity must be approved in advance by the governor's committee on disability issues and employment. A form will…

(1) To the extent money is available, the governor's committee on disability issues and employment will publish on the accessible communities website any grant opportunities and forms for applying for accessible community grants.(2) The grant opportunities will be based on emergi…

(1) An "employer" is:(a) Any individual or type of organization, including any partnership, association, trust, estate, joint stock company, insurance company, limited liability company, or corporation, whether domestic or foreign, or the receiver, trustee in bankruptcy, trustee,…

(1) An "employer agent" is a designated representative that is authorized to conduct business on behalf of the employer.(2) In order to represent an employer before the department, the employer or employer agent must submit a signed power of attorney form to the department.(3) Th…

"Calendar quarter" means the period of three consecutive calendar months ending on March 31st, June 30th, September 30th, or December 31st.[Statutory Authority: RCW 50A.04.215. WSR 18-22-080, § 192-500-020, filed 11/2/18, effective 12/3/18.]

(1) Unless otherwise specified, the terms "mail," "provide," "file," "submit," and "send" are interchangeable and mean to properly transmit, deliver, or distribute:(a) By email or other electronic services; or(b) In another format approved by the department.(2) This section does …

"Willful" and "willfully" mean a knowing and intentional act or omission, unless otherwise defined in Title 50A RCW.[Statutory Authority: RCW 50A.04.215. WSR 18-22-080, § 192-500-030, filed 11/2/18, effective 12/3/18.]