Does the employee pay for unemployment benefits in Washington?

That's what I thought! Thanks for clarifying. I was worried there would be another deduction from my paycheck.

yeah my boss tried to tell me the same thing once, some employers just don't know the rules

Good to know! I was starting to panic about my take-home pay being even smaller.

Wait, so if I move to a different state I might have to pay unemployment taxes? That's confusing.

Yes, states like Alaska, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania do have employee contributions. But in Washington, it's all employer-funded.

Same here! I spent hours on hold just to get disconnected. The system is broken.

I found this service called Claimyr that actually got me through to a Washington ESD agent in under 10 minutes. Check out claimyr.com - they have a video demo at https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ that shows how it works. Way better than sitting on hold for hours.

Interesting, I'll have to remember that if I ever need to contact them again. The regular phone system is absolutely useless.

Right, that makes sense. So it's like insurance that my employer pays for on my behalf.

Exactly! Your employer pays based on their experience rating too - companies with more layoffs pay higher rates.

No, you don't need to do anything. As long as you're a W-2 employee, you're automatically covered. Your employer handles all the registration and payments to Washington ESD.

Oh good, one less thing to worry about. This whole adulting thing is overwhelming sometimes.

lol tell me about it, there's so much stuff nobody teaches you

Wow, that's a pretty big range. I guess companies that lay people off a lot have to pay more?

Exactly. It's called experience rating - companies with higher turnover and more unemployment claims pay higher rates. It incentivizes employers to retain workers.

That's actually a pretty smart system. Makes employers think twice about unnecessary layoffs.

Same! People get confused because they see 'unemployment tax' on their employer's tax forms and assume it comes out of their pay.

Yeah, there's a lot of misinformation out there about how unemployment works.

Good distinction! I definitely see FICA taxes on my pay stubs but never anything for unemployment.

Yeah, and you also pay into State Disability Insurance in some states, but Washington doesn't have that either.

Right, Washington has Paid Family and Medical Leave which IS partially employee-funded, but that's separate from unemployment insurance.

Makes sense. There are so many different programs it's easy to mix them up.

Yep, employers pay for unemployment insurance AND workers comp in Washington. No employee contributions for either.

I feel your pain! I was calling for weeks trying to resolve an adjudication issue.

That's exactly why I started using Claimyr. They connect you directly to Washington ESD agents without the endless hold times. Totally worth it when you're dealing with claim issues.

I wish I had known about that service when I was going through all that stress. Would have saved me so much time and frustration.

Correct. 1099 contractors and self-employed individuals aren't automatically covered. They can opt into the program voluntarily, but most don't.

Thanks for confirming. I'm switching from contractor to employee status and wanted to make sure I understood the difference.

Good question! I'm glad I'm going to be a regular employee with full benefits.

That's way better than what I got in Texas before moving here. Washington definitely takes care of workers better.

Good to know! Hopefully I'll never need it but it's reassuring that the safety net exists.

Yeah, and it's all funded by employers so you don't have to worry about it affecting your paycheck at all.

Thanks for the confirmation from someone who works with this stuff professionally!

Do you know why Washington chose to fund it entirely through employers instead of splitting it?

It's been that way since the program started in the 1930s. The idea was to make it fully employer-funded since it's meant to cover people who lose jobs through no fault of their own.

I might tactfully mention it if it comes up again. Don't want to embarrass them on my first week!

Smart approach. Maybe frame it as 'I looked it up and found out employees don't actually pay into unemployment in Washington' rather than 'you're wrong' lol

Exactly! That's much more diplomatic.

Interesting! Washington seems to be pretty progressive when it comes to worker protections.

Yeah, we also have some of the highest minimum wages in the country and good family leave policies.

How does it work exactly? Do they just call for you?

They use some kind of system to get you connected faster. Way better than calling the regular number and waiting on hold forever. Check out their demo video to see how it works.

That sounds really helpful for when you actually need to reach Washington ESD. The phone system is notoriously bad.

Great point! It's nice to have one less thing deducted from my paycheck.

Right? Between health insurance, dental, vision, 401k, taxes, etc. there's not much left of your gross pay. At least unemployment doesn't add to that list.

Tell me about it! I was shocked when I saw how much gets deducted from a paycheck. Unemployment being employer-funded is definitely a relief.

Good reminder! I know it's not just free money - there are rules about why you became unemployed.

Yeah, and you have to be actively looking for work and report your job search activities. It's not a vacation fund.

Makes sense. It's insurance for when you lose your job through no fault of your own, not when you choose to quit.

That would make sense. It's a small company so the owner probably handles a lot of different things and gets confused sometimes.

Yeah, small business owners wear a lot of hats. Easy to mix up which taxes are employer vs employee responsibility.

Perfect summary! Thanks everyone for all the helpful responses. I feel much better about starting my new job now.

Glad we could help clear that up! Welcome to the working world in Washington - you picked a good state for worker protections.

Thanks! I'm excited to start and relieved I don't have to worry about another paycheck deduction.