1. (1) Examples of wages reportable to the department for premium assessment purposes include, but are not limited to:

   1. (a) Salary or hourly wages;
   2. (b) Cash value of goods or services given in the place of money;
   3. (c) Commissions or piecework;
   4. (d) Bonuses;
   5. (e) Cash value of gifts or prizes;
   6. (f) Cash value of meals and lodging when given as compensation;
   7. (g) Holiday pay;
   8. (h) Paid time off, including vacation leave and sick leave, as well as associated cash outs, unless these wages are considered supplemental benefit payments provided by the employer;
   9. (i) Separation pay including, but not limited to, severance pay, termination pay, and wages in lieu of notice;
   10. (j) Value of stocks at the time of transfer to the employee if given as part of a compensation package;
   11. (k) Compensation for use of specialty equipment, performance of special duties, or working particular shifts; and
   12. (l) Stipends/per diems unless provided to cover a past or future cost incurred by the employee as a result of the performance of the employee's expected job functions.

2. (2) Examples of what the department will not consider wages include, but are not limited to:

   1. (a) A payment from an employer benefit that is not part of the employee's standard compensation.

      Example: While on paid medical leave, an employee receives sixty-one percent of the employee's typical weekly wage from the state. Through an internal short-term disability benefit, the employer pays the employee the remaining thirty-nine percent of the employee's typical weekly wage as a supplemental benefit payment, bringing the employee's total benefit to one hundred percent of the employee's typical weekly wage. Since this supplemental benefit payment is not part of the employee's standard compensation, it is not considered a wage, and should not be reported on either the employee's weekly claim or the employer's quarterly report.

   2. (b) Any payment made to an employee to cover a past or future cost incurred by the employee related to the performance of the employee's expected job functions. Such costs include, but are not limited to, costs of meals and travel.

      Example: An employer pays a per diem to an employee on a business trip to cover the cost of local travel and meals. This amount is not considered a wage, even if the per diem exceeds the actual cost incurred.

   3. (c) The amount of any payment made (including any amount paid by an employer for insurance or annuities, or into a fund to provide for any such payment) to, or on behalf of, an individual or the individual's dependents under a plan or system established by an employer which makes provision generally for individuals performing service for the employer (or for such individuals generally and their dependents) or for a class or classes of such individuals (or for a class or classes of such individuals and their dependents) on account of:

      1. (i) Retirement;
      2. (ii) Short-term or long-term disability;
      3. (iii) Medical or hospitalization expenses in connection with sickness or accident disability; or
      4. (iv) Death.

[Statutory Authority: RCW 50A.05.60 [50A.05.060] and 50A.25.030. WSR 20-01-087, § 192-510-025, filed 12/12/19, effective 1/12/20. Statutory Authority: RCW 50A.04.215. WSR 19-13-001, § 192-510-025, filed 6/5/19, effective 7/6/19.]