AGC of America recently joined 39 national and state business associations and employers in a letter to U.S. Secretary of Labor Chavez DeRemer requesting that the Secretary raise federal conformity and compliance issues with the State of Washington Act (SB 5041) that was recently enacted to permit the payment of unemployment compensation to striking workers while on strike. This legislation is contrary to federal requirements in Section 303(a) generally and specifically 303(a)(12) of the Social Security Act as well as 26 USC 3304 in the Internal Revenue Code.
The letter requests that the Secretary raise federal concerns and require that the state of Washington not implement provisions of SB 5041 that are contrary to federal requirements. Raising concerns now would be timely, as Washington SB 5041 was enacted to be effective January 1, 2026.
This letter demonstrates the national support from employers in requesting that the Secretary of Labor take action to assure that state law meets the requirements of the employer financed Federal/State unemployment insurance system. We are hopeful that the Secretary will act to raise these federal conformity and compliance issues with respect to Washington SB 5041 in addition to Oregon S916 and enactments in other states that have permitted striking workers to be paid unemployment compensation while on strike. Such provisions are clearly contrary to federal law.
For more information, contact Claiborne Guy at claiborne.guy@agc.org.