CERTIFICATION OF ENROLLMENT
ENGROSSED SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 1106
Chapter 240, Laws of 2023
68th Legislature
2023 Regular Session
UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE—DISQUALIFICATION FOR VOLUNTARY SEPARATION—
GOOD CAUSE EXCEPTIONS
EFFECTIVE DATE: July 23, 2023
Passed by the House April 13, 2023 CERTIFICATE
Yeas 56 Nays 41
I, Bernard Dean, Chief Clerk of the
House of Representatives of the
LAURIE JINKINS State of Washington, do hereby
Speaker of the House of certify that the attached is
Representatives ENGROSSED SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL
1106 as passed by the House of
Representatives and the Senate on
the dates hereon set forth.
Passed by the Senate April 6, 2023
Yeas 26 Nays 20
BERNARD DEAN
DENNY HECK Chief Clerk
President of the Senate
Approved May 4, 2023 10:09 AM FILED
May 4, 2023
Secretary of State
JAY INSLEE State of Washington
Governor of the State of Washington
 ENGROSSED SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 1106
AS AMENDED BY THE SENATE
Passed Legislature - 2023 Regular Session
State of Washington 68th Legislature 2023 Regular Session
By House Labor & Workplace Standards (originally sponsored by
Representatives Fosse, Reeves, Reed, Berry, Doglio, Wylie, Kloba,
Santos, and Ormsby)
READ FIRST TIME 01/24/23.
1 AN ACT Relating to qualifications for unemployment insurance when
2 an individual voluntarily leaves work; amending RCW 50.20.050 and
3 50.29.021; adding a new section to chapter 50.04 RCW; and creating
4 new sections.
5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
6 NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. A new section is added to chapter 50.04
7 RCW to read as follows:
8 "Vulnerable adult" has the same meaning as in RCW 74.34.020.
9 Sec. 2. RCW 50.20.050 and 2022 c 268 s 42 are each amended to
10 read as follows:
11 (1) With respect to separations that occur on or after September
12 6, 2009, and for separations that occur before April 4, 2021:
13 (a) A claimant shall be disqualified from benefits beginning with
14 the first day of the calendar week in which the claimant left work
15 voluntarily without good cause and thereafter for seven calendar
16 weeks and until the claimant obtains bona fide work in employment
17 covered by this title and earned wages in that employment equal to
18 seven times the claimant's weekly benefit amount. Good cause reasons
19 to leave work are limited to reasons listed in (b) of this
20 subsection.
p. 1 ESHB 1106.SL
 1 The disqualification shall continue if the work obtained is a
2 mere sham to qualify for benefits and is not bona fide work. In
3 determining whether work is of a bona fide nature, the commissioner
4 shall consider factors including but not limited to the following:
5 (i) The duration of the work;
6 (ii) The extent of direction and control by the employer over the
7 work; and
8 (iii) The level of skill required for the work in light of the
9 claimant's training and experience.
10 (b) A claimant has good cause and is not disqualified from
11 benefits under (a) of this subsection only under the following
12 circumstances:
13 (i) The claimant has left work to accept a bona fide offer of
14 bona fide work as described in (a) of this subsection;
15 (ii) The separation was necessary because of the illness or
16 disability of the claimant or the death, illness, or disability of a
17 member of the claimant's immediate family if:
18 (A) The claimant pursued all reasonable alternatives to preserve
19 the claimant's employment status by requesting a leave of absence, by
20 having promptly notified the employer of the reason for the absence,
21 and by having promptly requested reemployment when again able to
22 assume employment. These alternatives need not be pursued, however,
23 when they would have been a futile act, including those instances
24 when the futility of the act was a result of a recognized labor/
25 management dispatch system; and
26 (B) The claimant terminated the claimant's employment status, and
27 is not entitled to be reinstated to the same position or a comparable
28 or similar position;
29 (iii) The claimant: (A) Left work to relocate for the employment
30 of a spouse or domestic partner that is outside the existing labor
31 market area; and (B) remained employed as long as was reasonable
32 prior to the move;
33 (iv) The separation was necessary to protect the claimant or the
34 claimant's immediate family members from domestic violence, as
35 defined in RCW 7.105.010, or stalking, as defined in RCW 9A.46.110;
36 (v) The claimant's usual compensation was reduced by twenty-five
37 percent or more;
38 (vi) The claimant's usual hours were reduced by twenty-five
39 percent or more;
p. 2 ESHB 1106.SL
 1 (vii) The claimant's worksite changed, such change caused a
2 material increase in distance or difficulty of travel, and, after the
3 change, the commute was greater than is customary for workers in the
4 claimant's job classification and labor market;
5 (viii) The claimant's worksite safety deteriorated, the claimant
6 reported such safety deterioration to the employer, and the employer
7 failed to correct the hazards within a reasonable period of time;
8 (ix) The claimant left work because of illegal activities in the
9 claimant's worksite, the claimant reported such activities to the
10 employer, and the employer failed to end such activities within a
11 reasonable period of time;
12 (x) The claimant's usual work was changed to work that violates
13 the claimant's religious convictions or sincere moral beliefs; or
14 (xi) The claimant left work to enter an apprenticeship program
15 approved by the Washington state apprenticeship training council.
16 Benefits are payable beginning Sunday of the week prior to the week
17 in which the claimant begins active participation in the
18 apprenticeship program.
19 (2) With respect to separations that occur on or after April 4,
20 2021:
21 (a) A claimant shall be disqualified from benefits beginning with
22 the first day of the calendar week in which the claimant has left
23 work voluntarily without good cause and thereafter for seven calendar
24 weeks and until the claimant has obtained bona fide work in
25 employment covered by this title and earned wages in that employment
26 equal to seven times the claimant's weekly benefit amount. Good cause
27 reasons to leave work are limited to reasons listed in (b) of this
28 subsection.
29 The disqualification shall continue if the work obtained is a
30 mere sham to qualify for benefits and is not bona fide work. In
31 determining whether work is of a bona fide nature, the commissioner
32 shall consider factors including but not limited to the following:
33 (i) The duration of the work;
34 (ii) The extent of direction and control by the employer over the
35 work; and
36 (iii) The level of skill required for the work in light of the
37 claimant's training and experience.
38 (b) A claimant has good cause and is not disqualified from
39 benefits under (a) of this subsection only under the following
40 circumstances:
p. 3 ESHB 1106.SL
 1 (i) The claimant has left work to accept a bona fide offer of
2 bona fide work as described in (a) of this subsection;
3 (ii) The separation was necessary because ((of the)): Of the
4 illness or disability of the claimant ((or)); of the death, illness,
5 or disability of a member of the claimant's immediate family ((if))
6 for separations that occur before September 3, 2023; of the death,
7 illness, or disability of a family member for separations that occur
8 on or after September 3, 2023; or the care for a child or a
9 vulnerable adult in the claimant's care is inaccessible for
10 separations that occur on or after July 7, 2024, and before July 8,
11 2029. However, to qualify based on a circumstance in this subsection
12 (2)(b)(ii), the following requirements must be met:
13 (A) The claimant made reasonable efforts to preserve the
14 claimant's employment status by requesting ((a leave of absence, by
15 having promptly notified)) changes in working conditions or work
16 schedule that would accommodate the death, illness, disability, or
17 caregiving inaccessibility, or by requesting a leave of absence,
18 promptly notifying the employer of the reason for the absence, and
19 ((by having promptly requested)) promptly requesting reemployment
20 when again able to assume employment. These alternatives need not be
21 pursued, however, when they would have been a futile act, including
22 those instances when the futility of the act was a result of a
23 recognized labor/management dispatch system; and
24 (B) The claimant terminated the claimant's employment status, and
25 is not entitled to be reinstated to the same position or a comparable
26 or similar position;
27 (iii) The claimant: (A) Left work to relocate for the employment
28 of a spouse or domestic partner that is outside the existing labor
29 market area; and (B) remained employed as long as was reasonable
30 prior to the move;
31 (iv) The separation was necessary to protect the claimant or the
32 claimant's immediate family members from domestic violence, as
33 defined in RCW 7.105.010, or stalking, as defined in RCW 9A.46.110;
34 (v) The claimant's usual compensation was reduced by twenty-five
35 percent or more;
36 (vi) The claimant's usual hours were reduced by twenty-five
37 percent or more;
38 (vii) The claimant's worksite changed, such change caused a
39 material increase in distance or difficulty of travel, and, after the
p. 4 ESHB 1106.SL
 1 change, the commute was greater than is customary for workers in the
2 individual's job classification and labor market;
3 (viii) The claimant's worksite safety deteriorated, the claimant
4 reported such safety deterioration to the employer, and the employer
5 failed to correct the hazards within a reasonable period of time;
6 (ix) The claimant left work because of illegal activities in the
7 claimant's worksite, the claimant reported such activities to the
8 employer, and the employer failed to end such activities within a
9 reasonable period of time;
10 (x) The claimant's usual work was changed to work that violates
11 the claimant's religious convictions or sincere moral beliefs;
12 (xi) The claimant left work to enter an apprenticeship program
13 approved by the Washington state apprenticeship training council.
14 Benefits are payable beginning Sunday of the week prior to the week
15 in which the claimant begins active participation in the
16 apprenticeship program; ((or))
17 (xii) During a public health emergency:
18 (A) The claimant was unable to perform the claimant's work for
19 the employer from the claimant's home;
20 (B) The claimant is able to perform, available to perform, and
21 can actively seek suitable work which can be performed for an
22 employer from the claimant's home; and
23 (C) The claimant or another individual residing with the claimant
24 is at higher risk of severe illness or death from the disease that is
25 the subject of the public health emergency because the higher risk
26 individual:
27 (I) Was in an age category that is defined as high risk for the
28 disease that is the subject of the public health emergency by the
29 federal centers for disease control and prevention, the department of
30 health, or the equivalent agency in the state where the individual
31 resides; or
32 (II) Has an underlying health condition, verified as required by
33 the department by rule, that is identified as a risk factor for the
34 disease that is the subject of the public health emergency by the
35 federal centers for disease control and prevention, the department of
36 health, or the equivalent agency in the state where the individual
37 resides;
38 (xiii) For separations that occur on or after July 7, 2024, the
39 claimant: (A) Left work to relocate in order to follow a minor child
40 who moved outside of the claimant's labor market; (B) remained
p. 5 ESHB 1106.SL
 1 employed as long as was reasonable prior to relocating; and (C) had
2 parental rights over the minor child at the time of the job
3 separation; or
4 (xiv) For separations that occur on or after July 7, 2024, the
5 claimant had a regularly scheduled shift or split shift start or end
6 time for the prior 90 calendar days, and the employer, without
7 request by the claimant and not based on a system of seniority,
8 changed the regularly scheduled shift or split shift start or end
9 time by six or more hours for that shift on a nontemporary basis.
10 (3) With respect to claims that occur on or after July 4, 2021, a
11 claimant has good cause and is not disqualified from benefits under
12 subsection (2)(a) of this section under the following circumstances,
13 in addition to those listed under subsection (2)(b) of this section,
14 if, during a public health emergency, the claimant worked at a health
15 care facility as defined in RCW 9A.50.010, was directly involved in
16 the delivery of health services, and left work for the period of
17 quarantine consistent with the recommended guidance from the United
18 States centers for disease control and prevention or subject to the
19 direction of the state or local health jurisdiction because of
20 exposure to or contracting the disease that is the subject of the
21 declaration of the public health emergency.
22 (4) Notwithstanding subsection (1) of this section, a claimant
23 who was simultaneously employed in full-time employment and part-time
24 employment and is otherwise eligible for benefits from the loss of
25 the full-time employment shall not be disqualified from benefits
26 because the claimant:
27 (a) Voluntarily quit the part-time employment before the loss of
28 the full-time employment; and
29 (b) Did not have prior knowledge that the claimant would be
30 separated from full-time employment.
31 Sec. 3. RCW 50.29.021 and 2021 c 251 s 4 are each amended to
32 read as follows:
33 (1)(a) An experience rating account shall be established and
34 maintained for each employer, except employers as described in RCW
35 50.44.010, 50.44.030, and 50.50.030 who have properly elected to make
36 payments in lieu of contributions, taxable local government employers
37 as described in RCW 50.44.035, and those employers who are required
38 to make payments in lieu of contributions, based on existing records
39 of the employment security department.
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 1 (b) Benefits paid to an eligible individual shall be charged to
2 the experience rating accounts of each of such individual's employers
3 during the individual's base year in the same ratio that the wages
4 paid by each employer to the individual during the base year bear to
5 the wages paid by all employers to that individual during that base
6 year, except as otherwise provided in this section.
7 (c) When the eligible individual's separating employer is a
8 covered contribution paying base year employer, benefits paid to the
9 eligible individual shall be charged to the experience rating account
10 of only the individual's separating employer if the individual
11 qualifies for benefits under:
12 (i) RCW 50.20.050 (1)(b)(i) or (2)(b)(i), as applicable, and
13 became unemployed after having worked and earned wages in the bona
14 fide work;
15 (ii) RCW 50.20.050 (1)(b) (v) through (x) or (2)(b) (v) through
16 (x); or
17 (iii) During a public health emergency, the claimant worked at a
18 health care facility as defined in RCW 9A.50.010, was directly
19 involved in the delivery of health services, and was terminated from
20 work due to entering quarantine because of exposure to or contracting
21 the disease that is the subject of the declaration of the public
22 health emergency.
23 (2) The legislature finds that certain benefit payments, in whole
24 or in part, should not be charged to the experience rating accounts
25 of employers except those employers described in RCW 50.44.010,
26 50.44.030, and 50.50.030 who have properly elected to make payments
27 in lieu of contributions, taxable local government employers
28 described in RCW 50.44.035, and those employers who are required to
29 make payments in lieu of contributions, as follows:
30 (a) Benefits paid to any individual later determined to be
31 ineligible shall not be charged to the experience rating account of
32 any contribution paying employ