Unemployment Law Project

What it reported doing in 2024

The Unemployment Law Project (ULP) provides free legal assistance and information to people who have been denied unemployment benefits. With offices in Seattle and Spokane, Washington, we offer our services to anyone who has or is eligible for a Washington State unemployment claim. Unemployment benefits are a public benefit, in existence since 1935 as part of the Social Security Act, an enacted in Washington State in 1937. Countless studies have demonstrated that unemployment benefits help not only the individual unemployed worker, but also the whole community. Unemployment benefits are paid out to landlords, grocery stores, medical professionals, restaurateurs, etc. The benefits help a worker manage a period of unemployment, staying in their home and continuing to have food and medicine while temporarily without work. Empirical studies have demonstrated that a person who has representation at a benefits hearing is more likely to succeed in winning benefits than someone who is not represented. ----In 2024 ULP represented in 694 hearings and appeals. This includes four cases in Superior Court and the Court of Appeals. ULP provided advice to 508 persons. In April ULP published our report VOICES OF WASHINGTON'S UNEMPLOYED, distilling 100 interviews of UI claimants whose benefits were threatened or who were ordered to repay benefits. The report advocates for broad policy reforms at ESD. Claimants frequently cited under staffing at ESD, the unfriendly appeals process, and the baffling complexity of the system. Key legislators, press, and state and federal policy makers received print copies of the report. A Seattle Times front page story highlighted the report and the destructive impact of the overpayment charges. In July 2024 the new care-giving "good cause" quit rule that ULP advocated for took effect. ULP advocated against some overly narrow rules related to the law by the business community. Fortunately the rules adopted regarding this new quit rule broadly apply to a myriad of family caregivers forced to quit a job due to childcare and other caregiving obstacles. Recently a pro se claimant was denied at her hearing because the judge did not follow the new law. The judge ruled that she quit for personal reasons and was disqualified. ULP wrote the Petition for Review to the Commissioner's Review Office and the benefits were allowed. She had "good cause" to quit due to the inaccessibility of child care for her new shift. Since 2021 ESD has been issuing thousands of overpayment notices regarding pandemic benefits. Advocates have demanded a waiver program. ULP played a key role in challenging enforcement deadlines for claimant submissions. The Department of Labor agreed and notified ESD that their interpretation of the law was incorrect. This opened the path to thousands of COVID overpayment waivers in WA State. ESD has now waived or refunded over $400 million in the state with more waivers pending. In 2024 the Office of Administrative Hearings hired a new Chief Judge. ULP staff met with the new chief judge to discuss problems and other issues with the hearing office. Some of our recommendations have been adopted. NARRATIVE OF SELECTED CASES 1: A man from a Greek immigrant family from Skagit County was separated from his employment because he requested an extension of his leave to take care of his dying father. He wanted to make sure that he was at his father's side when he passed away, which the doctors indicted was imminent. He was the only child and his elderly mother was unable to assist his father as she sustained injuries while trying to provide care. The employer denied the request for an extension of his leave and requested that he return to work the following Monday. The man had exhausted his Paid Family Medical Leave. He was unable to return to his job and the employer terminated him. After his father passed away, two weeks after the job ended, the man filed for unemployment benefits. The Employment Security Department ap

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
• Program expense ratio: 92.7%; rating input score 93
• Fundraising efficiency: $34.87 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 71; 71st percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 91.7%; rating input score 92; 12th percentile among comparable filings
• Pay-setting controls: Limited
• Foreign activity oversight: Limited
• Grant itemization coverage: Limited
• Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
• Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

• Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
• Governance controls: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
  • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
  • Whistleblower policy: Pass
  • Document-retention policy: Pass
  • CEO compensation review process: Fail
  • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
  • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
  • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
  • Audit committee oversight: Fail
  • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

• Operating margin: -13.4%; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.9; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.38; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 17.3%; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 5.1% per year; rating input score 100; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 8.4% per year; rating input score 100; 60th percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 9.8% per year; rating input score 100; 58th percentile among comparable filings