The Blog

Karen Lee, Employment Security Commissioner

08/06/09

New law may spare employers from military-related unemployment costs

Sometimes issues collide in unexpected ways and with unintended consequences. Take, for example, Washington’s unemployment-insurance program and our friends and family who served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

We appreciate employers who welcome returning National Guard and reserve members by hiring them back into their old jobs. It’s the law, and it’s the right thing to do.

Unfortunately, it often means laying off a person who was hired to backfill for the military employee.  And until this year, employers would be charged for the unemployment benefits paid to those replacement workers.

In general, an employer’s unemployment tax rate is tied to the amount of unemployment benefits provided to former employees. Laying off the replacement workers meant an employer’s unemployment-tax rate could increase.

That’s about to change.

Under a new state law that takes effect on July 26, most employers in Washington can avoid unemployment-insurance charges for laid-off workers temporarily hired to backfill for activated National Guard and reserve members.

To avoid being charged for these benefits, employers must contact Employment Security and specify which layoffs are due to military members returning to work. 

The new law does not apply to certain employers, including government agencies, public schools, some tribal entities and some non-profit organizations. These types of employers are still required to pay for all unemployment benefits paid to former employees.

Employers who welcome reservists back into the work place shouldn’t be penalized through higher unemployment taxes. This law allows our unemployment system to treat both the temporary workers and their employers with compassion.