Virtually all employers are subject to unemployment insurance taxes under Washington's Employment Security Act (WA Code Sec. 50.01.005 et seq.). Coverage extends to any organization that:
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• Acquires the business of a covered employer;
• Paid $20,000 for agricultural labor in any calendar quarter of either the current or preceding calendar year or that employed 10 or more agricultural workers for some portion of a day in each of 20 different weeks in either the current or preceding calendar year;
• Is an employer of domestic servants that paid wages of $1,000 or more in any quarter of the current or preceding calendar year; or
• Is considered an Indian tribe.
The law excludes certain services from coverage, including, for example, services provided by:
• Students working for schools, colleges, or universities;
• Students working for work-study programs;
• Spouses of students working for schools;
• Real estate and insurance salespersons;
• Outside salespersons paid solely by commission;
• Investment company agents or solicitors paid by commission;
• Certain newspaper distributors (e.g., minors);
• Corporate officers, unless they elect to be covered;
• Anyone employed by a church or a convention or association of churches; and
• Participants in sheltered workshops or government work-relief or work-training programs (WA Code Sec. 50.04.100 et seq. and WA Code Sec. 50.44.040).
