September 2023 | Issue 39

WA Cares Update

How to prepare for Q3 reporting changes

When submitting your Q3 wage report in October, you will now report Paid Leave and WA Cares premiums from employees at the same time on the same report.

New (v8) CSV file specifications and templates are now available on the Paid Leave website. The new file format now includes fields for employee date of birth and WA Cares exemption status.

Prepare your test file according to the new CSV specifications and CSV template. We recommend employers or employer agents test their file formats prior to the reporting due date(s).

WA Cares exemptions

ESD is currently processing a high volume of exemption applications. Approved exemptions from workers who submitted their applications before July 1 will have an effective exemption date of July 1, 2023, regardless of when their application is approved. In some cases, this may mean you will be deducting premiums from workers' wages before they are able to provide you a copy of their exemption approval letter. Once they provide their exemption approval letter, we encourage you to return their deductions at your earliest convenience since ESD will not assess premiums for these workers for any part of Q3.

Workers who submit exemption applications on or after July 1, and are approved, will be issued an effective exemption date starting the quarter following the date the exemption was approved, and will be assessed premiums for all of Q3.

Once ESD processes an application, we send a confirmation email to the customer. If an applicant would like an update on the status of their application, we suggest they log into their SAW account. We ask that they avoid calling our customer care team to ask about status. Our agents cannot quote processing timelines for individual applications.

Live webinar: Employer Account Roles and Contact Types

There’s plenty to know about WA Cares and Paid Leave, and we’re committed to making your experience as easy as possible with helpful info and resources. Join us for an employer-focused webinar, where we'll cover Paid Leave and WA Cares employer account roles and contact types.

• Thursday, Sept. 21, 11 a.m. to noon — Register now!
  This webinar is limited to 200 participants, so don’t delay in registering!

Live webinar: Updated Reporting Requirements

Are you looking for more in-depth conversations around WA Cares and Paid Leave reporting requirements? Join us for an employer-focused webinar where we will discuss reporting requirements that start October 2023: date of birth, no payroll, and WA Cares exemption reporting.

• Thursday, Sept. 28, 11 a.m. to noon — Register now!
  This webinar is limited to 200 participants, so don’t delay in registering!

Recorded webinars

Searching for past webinars? Find them on the WA Cares website.