r/UnemploymentWA • u/WhatIsSunshine • Nov 01 '23

Resolved in the Roadmap Commission and Unemployment

I was laid off from my job at the beginning of August. My position had a sales component where I could earn commissions, paid quarterly. In July, I contributed to the sale of a few products though did not know if I would earn a commission as there were other quarterly qualifiers that had to be met in order to get the commission and I did not know if I had met them prior to being laid off.

I received pay in lieu of notice so did not start filing for unemployment until 10/1 and luckily had found work that started on 10/23 so I only filed 3 times. I did not file a claim for the week of 10/23 since I started my new job.

I discovered today, 10/31, that I am getting a commission check from my previous employer. Do I need to report this? It was earned before I was laid off, but was still in the quarter I was laid off (July/August/Sept) and received after I started my new job so not while I was actively filing. I don't want to find myself in a position where I need to pay back some or all of the benefits when/if my filings are approved. I did a search for previous posts related to this but did not find that it had been asked previously - apologies if it has!

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u/SoThenIThought_ Admin for WEBA.Law, WA Unemployment Benefits Nov 01 '23 edited Nov 01 '23

Ah yes, this is information from the earnings deduction section of the roadmap:

Specifically this is the section that deals with the laws:

And the post that apply to a situation in which you are paid late are these:

Self employed Work/Multiple Employers/Paid Late

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Yes, you do have to report it. The easiest way is to attach a copy of the bonus and the bonus structure as a message in eServices. Some kind of a small statement describing which pay period this payment is assigned to.

This is because Washington State considers all payments made from an employer to an employee as "renumeration", which includes tips and bonuses and regular pay, hourly and salary and commissions;

RCW 50.04.320: Wages, remuneration.

(4)(a) "Remuneration" means all compensation paid for personal services including commissions and bonuses and the cash value of all compensation paid in any medium other than cash. The reasonable cash value of compensation paid in any medium other than cash and the reasonable value of gratuities shall be estimated and determined in accordance with rules prescribed by the commissioner.

The state law that applies to bonuses is this one:

WAC 192-190-060: Bonuses.

(1) If a bonus is attributable to work you performed during a week in which you claimed benefits, the amount paid is deductible from benefits.

Example: You work twenty hours a week and receive partial unemployment benefits. Based on productivity for that week, your employer awards a fifty dollar cash bonus to workers. The fifty dollars is deductible from benefits.

(2) If a bonus is not attributable to work you performed during a week claimed, it is not deductible from benefits.

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So the statement and the pay stub need to prove that it is a bonus paid for work performed during a week in which you were not claiming, for it not to affect any of the weekly claims that you have filed

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u/WhatIsSunshine Nov 01 '23

Earnings Deductions / Working Part Time

u/SoThenIThought_ man, I thought I had looked over everything before asking. I appreciate your help and the time you put into this community.

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u/SoThenIThought_ Admin for WEBA.Law, WA Unemployment Benefits Nov 01 '23 edited Nov 01 '23

No problem. Anytime.

It's just a topic that doesn't come up often so it doesn't need its own set of mega posts or anything - So it's much harder to find

And... Now it's in there as its own thing, from this conversation