Unemployment Pool: Benefits of Membership

About the PoolHow It WorksBecome A Member

The Puget Sound Educational Service District Unemployment Pool provides school districts with a responsive and coordinated program of self-insurance for unemployment compensation.

Membership

With the support of Puget Sound Unemployment Pool, you can manage your Unemployment Insurance costs by paying close attention to benefit charges, refusal of work, over-payments and fraud. Let us help you manage these milestone events and save you and your district time and money.

If you are not currently a member of the Puget Sound Unemployment Pool, we invite you to join. Let us help you manage your unemployment costs. Why is this important? We want to support you in being good stewards of your district’s finances. Budgets are tight. Time is tight. The Puget Sound Unemployment Pool will give you a little breathing room.

  • Portions of operating costs are covered by the Pool’s investment earnings.
  • Districts’ individual risks are reduced.

All school districts in the Puget Sound ESD region are eligible to join the Pool upon approval of the advisory board. Current members pay assessments only as required to maintain a certain account balance. Fees for new members are set by the advisory board and are based on the size of the district’s prior year’s payroll and past claims costs.

Services

  • Representation through review, hearing and appeal process.
  • Loss prevention and training program.
  • Claims management reports.
  • Member districts get immediate responses and expert claims management.

Our Pool provides school districts with a responsive and coordinated program of self-insurance for unemployment compensation.

The Pool is governed by an advisory board which has a representative from each member district. An executive advisory board, comprised of five members provides policy and procedural recommendations. Claims are managed in-house at Puget Sound ESD by an unemployment claims consultant. Claims are cross-checked with workers’ compensation claims to insure that dual benefits are not being collected. An in-house CPA is responsible for the preparation of financial statements and investment of funds.

Management Reporting

Puget Sound Unemployment Pool provides customized reporting.

  • Monthly Reports: shows status of each claim for the current school year.
  • Quarterly Charges Overview: list of charges assessed the school district by Employment Security for the payment of unemployment compensation. All charges reviewed by Claims Consultant.
  • Quarterly Financials: Provided by CPA.
  • Annual Performance Review: Provided at Annual Meeting and shows performance of Pool in terms of claims, financials and appeals.

Education and Training

Customized education and training is also a major component of our stewardship services. Do you or your staff need a “refresher” on Unemployment Laws or the process? Do you have new staff members who are unfamiliar with responding to requests from Employment Security? We can create a training to best meet your needs. Consider inviting us to your next staff meeting.

Compliance

The purpose of this organization shall be to provide member school districts with a means to comply with the Unemployment Compensation laws.

Become a Member

Please complete and submit the form below to request membership in the Puget Sound Workers' Compensation Trust and/or Unemployment Pool

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