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Office of Administrative Hearings proposes pilot to shift mailed hearing notices to email and text
Summary
The Office of Administrative Hearings asked the Employment Security Department advisory committee to support stakeholder outreach for permissive legislation to send hearing notices by email/text and portal alert after an initial mailed notice; the agency plans a one‑year pilot, an opt‑back-to‑mail option and metrics to track defaults and access.
The Office of Administrative Hearings told the Employment Security Department advisory committee it plans to pursue permissive legislation to change the default for hearing notices from postal mail to electronic communications, with an initial mailed notice followed by email, text and a portal alert.
Mike Ork, director of communications and government relations for the Office of Administrative Hearings, said the change grew out of a budgeting exercise and employee suggestions and could reduce printing and mailing costs that he said exceed $350,000 annually. "We're gonna do that by improving our electronic service and by changing the default mode for notifications and sending documents from mailing everything to prioritizing electronic communications," Ork said.
Senior administrative law judge Jennifer Carroll told the committee the shift could reduce confusion for parties who already receive employment‑security correspondence electronically but then get paper from a separate hearings office. "We'd just like to avoid having that confusion," she said, adding the proposed process would let people opt to continue receiving US Mail by calling a customer‑service line.
Ork said the bill language would be permissive: the agency would pilot the approach for one year and report back to the Legislature before making any permanent change. The pilot would monitor call‑center opt‑ins for mail, portal usage and default and vacate‑hearing rates; Ork said the adjudicative support center aims to answer most calls within 45 seconds and staff are trained to handle many routine requests.
Committee members offered general support and asked for follow‑up on system readiness and how Washington's approach would compare with other states. The presenters asked advisory members to send feedback now, while the agency continues IT upgrades to enable portal notifications.
The committee did not take a formal vote on the proposed legislation at the meeting. The Office of Administrative Hearings said it will return with materials and a draft bill after stakeholder outreach.
What happens next: the agency will run a one‑year pilot if funded and report pilot findings to the Legislature; parties may continue to receive mailed notices on request.
