Legislation Could Increase Unemployment Insurance Taxes Yet Again

(Editor’s note: How much have your UI rates gone up? Legislators have asked AGC lobbyists for real-world impacts on both large and small companies. Please take a moment to share this info – the amount of recent increases plus any broader impact on your firm – to Christine Swanson 360-352-5000. This info will be helpful to AGC efforts to combat proposed increases.)

More information will be reported soon but AGC members should be braced for legislation that could increase the cost of unemployment insurance.

The Senate Committee on Labor Commerce and Consumer Protection recently passed legislation (SB 6793) in a form called a “title only bill”. This means that the bill is literally just a title (“Pertaining to Unemployment Insurance”) with the details regarding what the bill would actually do to be filled in later. This “title only” technique allows the Legislature to meet the legislative cut-off date by which time bills need to be passed out of committee while buying time to fill in the details.

AGC anticipates that ultimately this bill will add language that will expand benefits to part-time workers reverse the voluntary quit change from the 2009 session that clarified the circumstances under which someone could quit their job and still receive benefits extend the temporary $45 increase in weekly benefits through 2010 and add some sort of temporary tax reduction.

Once the details are available AGC will alert members and the bill will be discussed during AGC’s weekly “Legislative Huddle” conference calls Mondays at 7:15 a.m. To participate in these calls to hear the latest moves in Olympia just send an email to Nancy O’Neil and you will receive the agenda and call-in information.