Class action lawsuit filed in effort to block Washington long-term care tax
Three businesses and six individuals filed a class action lawsuit Tuesday in federal court in an attempt to block a payroll tax intended to fund a long-term care program for employees in Washington state.
The state's Long-Term Care Trust Act, signed into law in May 2019, is first of its kind and coming fast. At the beginning of 2022, individuals working in Washington state will have 0.58% of their salary deducted. That means for employees making $56,618 — the average salary in Washington, according to the state's Office of Financial Management — $328.38 would be taken out of their annual wages. Those deductions will collectively fund an individual's long-term care — unless they opted out after purchasing a private policy by a now-expired Nov. 1 deadline.
The complaint — filed by Seattle-based law firm Davis Wright Tremaine in the federal court for the Western District of Washington — was on behalf of individuals who had not qualified for the exemption. It argues that the act violates the federal law that forbids states from passing any law that requires employees to participate in plans that provide sickness or medical benefits.
"This Act is extremely unpopular and for good reason," said Richard Birmingham, the partner at Davis Wright Tremaine representing the suit, in a news release. "In addition to placing unfair burdens on both employers and employees, the Act is clearly unlawful. We are urging the court to declare the Act void and unenforceable and, after such declaration, to stop employee contributions to WA Cares."
https://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/news/2021/11/09/washington-payroll-tax-class-action-lawsuit.html
The article doesn't say so but I believe one can opt out of this if they buy a private LTD policy.
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