Bellevue Chamber of Commerce issued the following on Dec. 17
During his budget rollout today, Washington Governor Jay Inslee announced his plan to address two of the most crippling elements of the Covid-19 crisis in our state – continued pressure on the state’s Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund, and guidelines for in-person learning in publicly funded common schools.
Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund
An explosive increase in new UI filings as well as fraudulent claims beginning in March 2020 has resulted in a rapid decline of the UI trust fund balance. While the State projects that the fund will remain solvent throughout 2020 and 2021, it also acknowledges the fund could drop below what is needed to pay three months of benefits sometime in early 2021.
If no action is taken, this strain on the fund will also trigger massive rate increases for Washington employers.
Today, Governor Inslee proposed significant changes to minimize rate hikes. The proposal estimates saving employers approximately $720 million in 2021.
On the benefit side:
- Increase minimum weekly benefit from 15% of Average Weekly Wage to 20% ($201 - $270).
- Increase the period of time used for calculating an employer's experience rating from the previous 4 to previous 5 years.
- Exclude layoffs occurring between March 22 and May 2, 2020 in all future calculations of an employer’s experience rating.
- If nothing is done the social tax rate on businesses will increase from .25 to 1.22. Therefore, implement gradual social tax rate smoothing from 2021-2025.
- Suspend collection of the fund's "solvency tax" until 2025.
Original source can be found here
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