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Committee hears bill to allow penalty waivers for minor employer reporting errors
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Summary
Senate Bill 5874 would let the Employment Security Department waive penalties for minor or inadvertent errors in quarterly employer reports (SOC/job-title fields); ESD said penalties have risen substantially and is working with sponsors on data.
Senate Bill 5874, presented as a proposed substitute, would permit the Employment Security Department to waive penalties for minor or insignificant reporting errors in employer quarterly reports, including inadvertent failures of payroll software to include Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) codes or job titles.
Committee staff explained the SOC/job-title requirement was added in 2021 and that escalating penalties can apply when employers file incomplete or incorrect reports. Sponsor Sen. McEwen said small administrative errors can lead to fines and that data from ESD showed a sharp increase in incomplete-report penalties in recent years; a fiscal note was requested.
Josh Dye of ESD said the department is reviewing numbers and that incomplete-report penalties and dollar totals rose from roughly $133,000 prior to the SOC addition to about $1.8 million in 2025 year-to-date. ESD said it will provide more detailed figures to the committee and work with stakeholders to ensure businesses are supported while preserving reporting integrity.
The committee heard testimony from staff and ESD and did not take a recorded vote that day.
