Do nonprofits pay unemployment tax - Washington ESD eligibility question

Yes, most nonprofits in Washington do pay unemployment taxes! The key thing is whether they're a 501(c)(3) with 4+ employees or if they elected reimbursement status instead of paying regular UI taxes. Either way, you should still be eligible for benefits.

I worked for a small nonprofit last year and had no problems getting unemployment when they had budget cuts. Filed online through SecureAccess Washington and everything went through normally.

There are actually two ways nonprofits can handle unemployment in Washington. They can either pay regular UI taxes like other employers, or they can choose the 'reimbursement' method where they pay Washington ESD directly for any benefits paid to their former employees. Both options make you eligible for benefits.

I had trouble reaching Washington ESD when I had questions about my nonprofit employment history. Kept getting busy signals for weeks. Finally used Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to an actual agent who confirmed my eligibility right away. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ that shows how it works.

Wait, I'm confused. I thought 501c3s were different from regular companies. Are you sure nonprofits pay the same unemployment taxes???

Just to add more detail - in Washington, nonprofits with religious exemptions are the main exception. Regular 501(c)(3) organizations are definitely subject to unemployment insurance requirements. Churches and some religious organizations can opt out, but most nonprofits cannot.

Filed for unemployment after getting laid off from a nonprofit food bank last summer. No problems at all - got approved and received benefits for the full period I was looking for work. Washington ESD processed everything normally.

The whole nonprofit unemployment thing used to confuse me too. But basically if you got a W-2 and they were taking out taxes, they were probably paying unemployment taxes too. Most established nonprofits handle this stuff properly.

I work in HR for a nonprofit and can confirm we pay unemployment insurance just like any other employer. We chose the standard tax method rather than reimbursement because it's easier to budget for. Our employees have never had issues getting benefits when needed.

Just want to second what others said about Claimyr. Used it when I had questions about my claim status and it worked great. Much better than sitting on hold for hours trying to reach Washington ESD directly.

Don't stress too much about the nonprofit thing. I've seen people worry about this before and it's usually not an issue. Washington has pretty broad coverage for unemployment insurance. As long as you worked there legitimately and they were a real employer, you should be fine.

One thing to keep in mind - if your nonprofit was really small (under 4 employees), there might be different rules. But most established nonprofits have enough staff to be covered under the regular unemployment insurance requirements.

Had a similar worry when I left my nonprofit job but it turned out to be nothing. Filed online through the Washington ESD website and everything processed normally. The system doesn't really care what type of organization you worked for as long as they were paying their unemployment taxes.

For what it's worth, I tried calling Washington ESD about a different question and couldn't get through for days. Finally tried that Claimyr service someone mentioned and got connected to an agent in like 20 minutes. Definitely saved me a lot of frustration.

Just file your claim and don't overthink it. Washington ESD will let you know if there are any issues with your employer's status. In my experience, legitimate nonprofits handle their unemployment obligations properly.

Update us on how it goes! Always curious to hear how these situations work out, especially for nonprofit employees since it comes up fairly often on here.

I went through almost the exact same situation last year! Got laid off from a local environmental nonprofit after 3 years and was super worried about unemployment eligibility. Turns out it was completely fine - filed through SecureAccess Washington and got approved within about 2 weeks. The nonprofit sector in Washington is pretty well covered under the unemployment system. Don't let the worry stress you out too much, just get your application in and let the system work. Most of the time these concerns turn out to be unfounded.