Washington Compliance and Regulatory Resources

State legislation changes rank among the top information sought by employers from their HR professionals. Paychex strives to simplify HR compliance by offering resources for Washington businesses. Learn more about requirements your business may need to comply with including pay transparency, workers’ comp, and more.

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State Tax Rates and Limits

State Unemployment Taxable Wage Base Limit
$68,500

State Unemployment Rate Range for Employers
0.00% to 8.12% - rates include surcharges

State Unemployment New Employer Rate
Rate is 115% of average industry rate

State Hourly Minimum Wage
$16.28

State Minimum Wage for Tipped Employees
N/A
WA wage and hour information

Paid Family Leave

Employers can offer the state-run paid family leave insurance program or opt out and purchase a private plan. All employers in Washington must provide paid family and medical leave, whether a voluntary plan or the state plan.

Employers must apply and be approved by Washington Paid Family & Medical Leave program to operate a voluntary plan, which must have the same or better benefits than the state plan.
WA PFML offers a total of 12 weeks in a 12-month period and a cumulative total of up to 16 weeks, with variance based on certain qualified instances.

Contributions to fund the state-run plan are divided between employers and employees.
- Businesses averaging fewer than 50 employees on their quarterly reports are not required to pay the employer portion of the premium.
  Read more about WA PFML program

State Tax ID Registration

SUI, PFML, and Labor & Industries Registration

Registration for SUI, Paid Family Medical Leave, and L&I uses the same registration process.
- Online registration will take 10-25 business days to process. SUI ID with format XXX,XXXX-XX (9 digits), PFML ID with format CXXX XXX XXX (C and 9 digits), L&I ID XXX,XXXX-XX (9 digits). Your account information will be mailed to you.
- Complete the L&I POA form. Email the POA and the registration confirmation to your Paychex Service Professional.

Entering your account numbers in Paychex Flex: Enter your new account number in your Paychex Flex® account to ensure that your Paychex account is updated and email your registration confirmation document to your Paychex Service Professional.

Refer to the Updating Tax Agency IDs in Paychex Flex instructions to update the information in the application.

Pay Transparency

In effect since Jan. 1, 2023, employers with 15 or more employees (total) and at least one in state must comply with the Washington pay transparency law.

Employers must provide wage scale or salary range, upon request, to an employee who is offered a promotion or a transfer.
Wage and salary range, a general description of benefits (e.g., retirement) and other compensation must be provided to applicants in all job postings and advertisements.
Records that show compliance with the law must be kept by employers for at least three years after the job is filled, or three years after the job was posted if the position is not filled.

For more information

Workplace Safety

WISHA
Washington has an OSHA-approved state plan that covers most private-sector workers and all state and local government workers within the state. Federal OSHA covers most workers not covered under the state plan.