| Comrades, Beginning on July 1st, Washington employers will begin deducting premiums for the WA Cares Fund. For those unaware of what this is, you can find more information HERE! However, according to the state’s Employment Security Department (ESD), more than 200,000 workers in the state may still be eligible to receive the exemption but must apply before the deadline on June 1. The WA Cares Fund website said more than 10,000 workers have submitted applications since Jan. 1 .Veterans with a 70% or higher service-connected disability can apply for a permanent exemption, according to the WA Cares Fund website. Other workers who are eligible for the exemption include: Workers who are a spouse/registered domestic partner of an active-duty U.S. armed forces member. Workers who work in Washington but live out of state. Workers who have a temporary non-immigrant visa, including H-2A and H-1B visas. These workers are only eligible for the exemption for as long as they remain in the circumstances above. The workers must notify their employer and ESD within 90 days if they no longer qualify, the WA Cares Fund website said. ESD said it will continue to process applications received after June 1, but applications approved on or after July 1 will not be effective until Oct. 1 at the earliest. You can apply for an exemption HERE!!! I Recently did mine and it took about 20 minutes to complete. Please ensure that you have your proof of disability letter from the VA ready to upload, as well as a proof of identification (I just used my WA Drivers license) I will try my best, to create a video and post it to the website on how to complete the exemption. Respectfully, Christopher Efird |