CenterPoint® Payroll - Washington Industrial Insurance

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Washington State requires that all employees be covered by industrial insurance. Premiums paid by employers and workers pay for medical care for job-related injuries and illnesses, and wage replacement when the injury or illness is serious enough to miss work. The system provides prompt payment to injured workers and protects employers from litigation.

The Department of Labor & Industries sets the rate, but what you pay is based on the accident and illness rates in your industry-specific job and your company's claims history. Rates vary widely, depending on how risky a job is. For example, the rate for a few select jobs in the logging industry exceeds $10 per hour. For less risky clerical workers, the rate is as low as 11 cents for every hour worked. Rates within a particular industry will vary depending on the frequency and cost of workers' compensation claims filed by a particular company.

  1. Select Setup > Payroll Details > Workers' Compensation Classes.
  2. Enter an Abbreviation, for example WA LI and Name, for example Washington Industrial Insurance for the class.
  3. In the State box, select Washington.
  4. Enter the Class Code that identifies a specific classification of work (usually found on the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries website). For example, classification code 4904 is for Administrative, Clerical, Reception and Sales Staff working in a business office.
  5. Select the Liability (usually a payable account, for example Workers' Compensation Payable or State Taxes Payable) and Expense Accounts (for example, Payroll Taxes Expense) for this class.
  6. If applicable, in the Certified Payroll Codes 1-4 boxes, enter the certified payroll work classification codes (usually apply for Federally funded building projects).
  7. Under Rate Detail, enter the Employer rate. For example, in 2017 classification code 4904 has an employer rate of 0.144100 per hour worked.
  8. Enter the Employee rate. For example, in 2017 classification code 4904 has an employee rate of 0.05830 per hour worked.

  1. Click Save.
Note: When a workers' compensation class is created, it is automatically added to all employers in the database on the Setup > Payroll Details > Employers > Taxes tab. If the state for the workers' compensation class was not added for the employer prior to creating the workers' compensation class, it will also be added.
  1. Select Setup > Payroll Details > Employers > Taxes tab.
  2. From the left side of the screen, under the state of Washington, select Washington Labor & Industrial.
  3. On the right side of the screen, enter the Workers' Comp ID.
  4. Add/verfiy the Liability Account (usually a payable account, for example Workers' Compensation Payable or State Taxes Payable).

  1. From the left side of the screen, select the Employee portion of a workers' compensation class under Washington Labor & Industrial.
  2. On the right-side of the screen add/verify the Liability Account and Employee Rate.

  1. From the left side of the screen, select the Employer portion of a workers' compensation class under Washington Labor & Industrial.
  2. On the right-side of the screen add/verify the Liability Account and Expense Account.
  3. Verify the Employer Rate.
  4. Click Save.
  5. Select Setup > Employees.
  6. Select an employee required to pay Washington Industrial Insurance, and then click Edit.
  7. Click the Taxes tab.
  8. On the upper left side of the screen, select your employer.
  9. On the lower left side of the screen, verify that Washington is selected.
  10. On the upper left side of the screen, select Washington Labor & Industrial.
  11. On the lower left side of the screen, select the applicable workers' compensation class, for example WA Industrial Insurance 4904.

  1. Verify the Expense Account.
  2. Click Save.

It is important to verify that Washington Industrial Insurance is calculated on the correct earnings (for example, you would not want it calculated on a vacation, sick or PTO earning).

To verify the earnings:

  • Select Setup > Payroll Details > Earnings.
  • Click the Taxes tab.
  • Locate the workers' compensation class, and verify the Taxes Calculated on Earning column.

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